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The Colorado Rockies essentially offered the white flag on the 2024 season a month ago with a shift to younger players, and right-hander Bradley Blalock will receive more playing time as a result.
Blalock, 23, was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers on July 27 and made his first major league start with Colorado on Monday. He will get his second start when the Rockies close a three-game series against the San Diego Padres on Sunday afternoon in Denver.
Blalock (0-0, 4.05 ERA) will make his second appearance against the Padres, who will send veteran right-hander Joe Musgrove (3-4, 5.20) to the mound.
Blalock made his debut in the majors with the Brewers on June 20 when he tossed a scoreless inning against the Padres.
Colorado catcher Drew Romo had his contract selected to fill the roster spot of Elias Diaz, who was given his unconditional release Friday. Romo made his debut Saturday night.
"He cared," Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt said of Diaz. "He's going to be missed in a lot of ways, but this is more that we've got to get better. The first step, I view, in getting better is giving Drew an opportunity here to get established, get his feet on the ground and see where that goes."
Romo has six weeks to get established, and that began in San Diego's 8-3 win over Colorado on Saturday.
Romo, 22, was drafted by Colorado in 2020 and was the top prospect in Triple-A, where he hit 14 home runs in 85 games for Albuquerque this season. He was 0-for-4 Saturday night and reached on a fielder's choice.
While the Rockies have looked to the future, the Padres are very much in the present. They have won 20 of their last 24 games.
Musgrove wasn't around for the start of the team's run, but he joined in last week. He was on the injured list with inflammation and triceps tendinitis, caused by a bone spur in his pitching elbow.
He didn't throw for a month after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow. He scattered two hits over 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his team's 2-1 win over Pittsburgh on Monday and came out of the start healthy.
"Typical Joe, he was attacking guys," San Diego manager Mike Shildt said. "He made quality pitches. Good for him, and good for us to have Joe back."
Musgrove altered his delivery during his rehab to help take stress off of his pitching elbow.
"Really, just moving the body better," he said after his start against the Pirates. "Using the whole body to throw the ball. I felt like a lot of the stress on my elbow was from not really loading into the lower half well and not continuing my rotation through release."
Sunday will be Musgrove's 12th start this season and the ninth in his career against Colorado. He is 4-3 with a 3.06 ERA in his career vs. the Rockies, and 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in Denver.
More must-reads:
- Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reaches yet another incredible milestone
- Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
- The 'MLB playoff home run leaders' quiz
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Why Red Sox may regret extending rookie Roman Anthony
To say that the Boston Red Sox are keeping MLB fans and analysts on their toes this season is an understatement. Almost two months after trading the face of their franchise, Boston signed MLB’s No. 1 prospect, Roman Anthony, to an eight-year, $130 million extension. Between trading Rafael Devers and locking Anthony up through 2034, the Red Sox have been the boldest MLB team this season by far. But will this move pay off? Fans expected Sox owner John Henry to spend money on the team during the offseason, but no one anticipated a massive mid-year pact with a rookie would occur. Anthony has only played 46 MLB games, during which he has slashed .283/.400/.428 with 19 RBIs and two home runs. While his rapid ascent through the minor league and hot start to his professional baseball career are beyond what fans could’ve asked for, Anthony’s extension is still premature from a financial perspective. With a $16.25 million AAV on his contract, the Sox have piled high expectations onto a player who recently turned 21 years old. For Anthony’s sizable and long-term commitment to be worth the investment, he should produce an annual 2.0 WAR at least and earn at least three or four All-Star, Gold Glove or Silver Slugger Awards by the end of his contract. For reference, Marcell Ozuna and Kyle Tucker received contracts within $250,000 AAV of Anthony’s contract AAV, according to Spotrac. All three achieved this criterion before they were rewarded with lucrative agreements. Weighing these standards against Anthony’s newness to MLB, it’s nearly impossible to say Boston’s decision-making was backed by more than just impulse. Somehow, Anthony isn’t the first rookie the Red Sox extended this year. With five games of baseball under his belt, Boston closed an eight-year, $60 million deal with Kristian Campbell, who was MLB’s No. 6 prospect at the time. While Campbell’s $7.5 million AAV is drastically different from Anthony’s, the Sox’s strategy to hoard young players before they’ve had enough time to prove themselves isn’t logical. Keeping Anthony off the free-agent market for the next decade may be the best risk the Sox have ever taken, or it may be one of the most expensive decisions made. Anthony must deliver the high-performance projections his contract sets for his early extension to pay off, but odds are, Boston is putting the cart before the horse.
Sophie Cunningham, Sparks HC react to third incident of object tossed onto court
Over the past couple of years, the WNBA has seen a major uptick in ratings and overall fan engagement. Unfortunately, that has also come with negative attention. It may have reached a new low, as there have now been three separate incidents in which a fan has thrown a sex toy on the court. This time, it nearly hit Indiana Fever veteran Sophie Cunningham during a matchup with the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday. Cunningham had already joked about it on social media, and given her outspoken nature and reputation as a bit of an instigator, she didn't shy away from it: She also laughed it up on her Instagram story: Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts, however, didn't think it was a laughing matter. Following the game, she put the fans on blast for their "stupid" behavior. "It's ridiculous. It's dumb. It's stupid," Roberts said, per Yahoo Sports. "It's also dangerous, and you know, player safety is No. 1, respecting the game, all those things. I think it's really stupid." There's no place for any of this in sports, much less in women's sports. The league needs to crack down on this and take the necessary measures to prevent it from happening ever again. The WNBA is finally thriving after years of surviving, and while the fans will eventually grow to respect the product, not all publicity is good publicity.
NFL Hall of Famer reveals why he chose to join Deion Sanders' Colorado coaching staff
Marshall Faulk is Colorado's new running backs coach, and the Buffaloes could not ask for someone with better experience for the job. That's, of course, because this is Faulk's first coaching gig. As a player, though, there were few better than the Pro Football Hall of Famer. In 12 seasons in the NFL, he rushed 2,836 times for 12,279 yards and 100 total touchdowns. He was a league MVP, a seven-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champ. Faulk was the real deal, and now he has a chance to pass his experiences on to the running backs at Colorado. For him, it's more than just the opportunity to coach football, though. He gets to coach under Deion Sanders, whom he views as a major difference-maker for the game of football. "You guys know him in a different way than I know him," Faulk said in a recent media availability (h/t On3). "We’ve been friends for many years. We worked together in television. We always talk just about the game and probably more about kids coming up in the game. How do you affect and make sure they come into the game the right way? He’s one of those way makers. When you pay attention to kids that’s gonna leave this program and go to the next level, they’re gonna do it in a certain way and you’re gonna say, 'Wow, they were coached by a guy who understands how to get it done.' I identify with that." Colorado can certainly use Faulk's expertise heading into 2025. There are several players battling for the starting role after Isaiah Augustave transferred to South Carolina. Even then, he was Colorado's leading rusher last season while rushing for just 384 yards and four touchdowns, so it's not like the Buffs have a big gap that they're trying to replace. Dekalon Taylor transferred in from Incarnate Word, where he rushed for 909 yards and nine touchdowns last season, so he'll be a player to watch. Dallan Hayden, Micah Welch, Simeon Price and Charlie Offerdahl are also names to know. Faulk will have his work cut out for him, but he seems excited to make a difference both on and off the field for these young Buffaloes. "So coming here not just to win games on the field, but to win the game off the field, which is to make sure that these young men in life become what they want to become outside of football. They become the father that they want to be, the brother, the husband. Making sure that they do that, that’s the important part. That was attractive," he said.
Giants have a quarterback conundrum pop up for the preseason
A delicate balancing act is required for the four quarterbacks on the New York Giants' preseason roster. Veteran Russell Wilson will be the Giants' Week 1 starter against the Washington Commanders. Per the depth chart released this week, Jameis Winston is QB2 and rookie Jaxson Dart is QB3. Tommy DeVito is QB4. Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic, the Giants have to juggle Dart's development with the ego of Winston during the preseason. Because New York prefers not to have Winston or Dart behind the third-team offensive line, DeVito is taking extra snaps from Dart at training camp so he can play mop-up duty during the preseason. "It stands to reason the Giants will want to get Dart as much playing time as possible in the preseason since they’re committed to riding Wilson as the starter once the season starts," Duggan wrote. "But the Giants also won’t want to expose Dart to getting pulverized behind the third-team offensive line, so there will be a fine line to walk with his playing time. "That has to be the only reason No. 4 quarterback Tommy DeVito remains on the roster. If the Giants are reluctant to expose Dart behind third-string linemen, and it could be viewed as insulting to make Winston play the fourth quarter of preseason games, someone needs to take those snaps." Per Duggan, Dart has taken 149 reps in training camp to Wilson's 110. The disparity in reps was why it was a surprise to see the first-round pick behind Winston on the initial depth chart. DeVito has taken 64 reps in camp that could have otherwise gone to Dart or Winston. Keeping DeVito around for the preseason serves another purpose. Keeping him on the field more during games keeps Winston healthy, something the Giants might need if their 36-year-old quarterback has an issue in the regular season.
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