Sports
Seven things to watch on MLB trade deadline day: Will an ace get dealt?
Follow our live MLB trade deadline tracker for the latest.
Here are seven things to watch leading up to the trade deadline at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday on what will be a drama-filled day that could feature several major trades.
1. Will an ace get moved?
The Tigers have listened to inquiring teams on their American League Cy Young Award candidate, Tarik Skubal. The White Sox continue to talk with teams about their ace, Garrett Crochet. The Giants have done their due diligence on two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. So far, none of them have been traded. It appears unlikely that any team will pay the prospect price it will take to land Skubal (but the Tigers still stand to get a strong return if they move Jack Flaherty). Crochet and his agency, CAA, diminished his trade value by saying he wouldn’t pitch in October unless he received a contract extension first, but there are still teams that would trade for him anyway. The Snell situation also will be interesting to watch. After trading Jorge Soler back to the Braves late Monday night, the Giants have a much higher chance of swapping Snell than they did yesterday.
Just remember, it takes only one owner, team president or GM to wake up on the right side of the bed this morning and decide they want to pay the exorbitant price for an ace who could make the biggest difference of any player traded at this year’s trade deadline.
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Trading for Garrett Crochet: Which teams (and prospect packages) could land him?
2. Where will the best-available closers land?
The Marlins have been shopping their closer, Tanner Scott, for more than a month now and there are only a few hours left until they have to decide where to trade him. Three AL East teams have been in the lead to acquire Scott, with the Orioles, Yankees and Red Sox all in play and the Royals of the AL Central a dark-horse candidate, according to major-league sources. But will another team jump in at the last minute with an offer the Marlins can’t refuse? And, once Scott is traded, how long will it take for one of the teams that missed out to pivot and try to land Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan? It’s closing time.
3. Will the Twins do anything significant?
The Twins have been very quiet this trade deadline. They haven’t made a trade in the past two weeks. They are looking to add starting pitching depth but their situation is complicated: Most of their discussions have involved buyer-to-buyer type trade proposals as they can’t significantly add payroll and might have to take payroll off their roster to add it back in a trade. They need to find a solution though, because adding a veteran starter would give them a much better shot at making the playoffs.
4. Which AL East contender will get the most bullpen depth?
The Red Sox, Orioles and Yankees are trying to improve their respective bullpens from a leverage and depth perspective. They’ve all been in on Tanner Scott and Kyle Finnegan, but that’s just at the high end of the market. They’ve also been trying to land relievers such as Mark Leiter Jr. of the Cubs, Luis Garcia of the Angels, Dylan Floro of the Nationals, Chad Green of the Blue Jays and both Lucas Erceg and Austin Adams of the A’s.
5. Are the Rays and White Sox done selling?
The Rays have dealt Isaac Paredes, Randy Arozarena, Jason Adam, Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale and Phil Maton. Yet they still could move second baseman Brandon Lowe, first baseman Yandy Díaz and closer Pete Fairbanks, among others. The Rays have been one of the stories of the trade deadline, but are they done? Meanwhile, the White Sox have traded Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech and Tommy Pham. Will they now trade Garrett Crochet or Luis Robert Jr.? Or will they end up moving more peripheral players like shortstop Paul DeJong or one of their right-handed power hitters such as Andrew Vaughn or Eloy Jiménez? They’ve lost 15 straight games — it’s time to win some trades.
6. Will the Giants keep selling?
The Giants’ trade of Soler and Luke Jackson to the Braves reduced their future financial exposure, but also indicated they might continue to sell and retool for 2025 and beyond. (A mix of buying and selling is also possible for San Francisco, which enters Tuesday four games out of playoff position in the standings.) They hold arguably the best trade chip: No pitcher or player could get a better return at the deadline than Snell. The Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles, along with other teams, would be interested in acquiring Snell and likely willing to pay a painful prospect price, especially given how he’s pitched over his past four starts (0.75 ERA over four outings in July). Will he stay or go? And what other moves will the Giants make?
7. Desperation Meter: Which teams are the most desperate to make a move?
The Yankees and Orioles are preparing for an epic race in the AL East and both are desperate to add more before the deadline. The Mariners and Astros have made significant acquisitions to upgrade their rosters, so will the rival Rangers feel pressure to make a big move too? Will the Mets land a starter? Will the Red Sox and Royals get the right-handed bat they’ve been looking for? The Desperation Meter may determine who makes a move and who doesn’t before the clock strikes 6 p.m.
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(Photo of Blake Snell: Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
Sports
‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42
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LAS VEGAS – Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.
As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.
The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.
Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.
JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.
The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.
Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.
As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.
Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.
Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.
Sports
Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies
DENVER — What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.
With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.
Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.
Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.
“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.
Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.
“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”
And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?
It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.
Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.
“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”
He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.
The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.
Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.
The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.
The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.
The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.
Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.
“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”
If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.
“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’
“I used it as fire to keep working.”
That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.
In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).
Sports
ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd
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LAS VEGAS – Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.
While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.
The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”
Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.
WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”
Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.
“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”
Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.
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