The St. Louis Cardinals are prepared to battle the Boston Red Sox on Friday at 1:10 PM CDT but will be without one of their top young sluggers for the entire series.
Despite most insiders disregarding the Cardinals as a genuine competitor before 2025 started, St. Louis is 4-2 and atop the National League Central with a 0.5 game lead over the hated Chicago Cubs.
If the Cardinals hope to maintain their lead at the top of their division, they'll have to do so without an essential piece to the franchise's future but could find relief from an aspiring big-leaguer.
"Infielder Nolan Gorman has been placed on the 10-day injured list (right hamstring strain), retroactive to April 2," the Cardinals announced Friday morning. "INF Thomas Saggese has been recalled from Memphis (AAA)."
Gorman hasn't seen much playing time this year due to Nolan Arenado's presence at third base -- the position he's expected to take over once the 10-time Gold Glove defender leaves St. Louis.
The 24-year-old has logged four hits including one double, one home run and one RBI in eight at-bats across two games played for the Cardinals this season. Although a small sample size, Gorman's start to 2025 is encouraging, considering how poorly he performed last year.
Fortunately, Saggese's promotion should provide the Cardinals with a solid right-handed bat off the bench and give the 22-year-old infielder some much-needed big-league experience while he looks to earn his way to the show.
Saggese batted .204 with one home run, two doubles, four RBIs and a .556 OPS in 49 at-bats across 18 games played after debuting for the Cardinals last year.
Although Saggese struggled after debuting in 2024, he's shown great potential in the minor leagues and could be impactful for the Cardinals someday. It'll be interesting to see how comfortable he is at the plate for St. Louis while he temporarily takes Gorman's place on the roster.
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On Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Brewers extended their winning streak to 11 games, and a key part of the team's momentum is a player who is in the National League MVP race. The red-hot Brewers entered Tuesday night facing one of the biggest threats to their winning streak, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes. Milwaukee torched Skenes for two home runs and four earned runs in 4.0 innings pitched. Brewers first baseman Andrew Vaughn added extra damage in the sixth inning with a three-run home run that increased Milwaukee's lead to 12-0. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Vaughn is in the NL MVP race after his home run on Tuesday night. "Andrew Vaughn suddenly in top 10 NL MVP discussion with another 3-run HR, giving him 32 RBI since joining the Brewers," Nightengale posted on X. "He is the gift that keeps on giving from the White Sox. They are about to go 24-4 since his arrival." Vaughn has helped the Brewers overrun and then take a commanding lead on the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Following their 14-0 win Tuesday night, the Brewers extended their lead to 7.5 games over the Cubs for first place. Vaughn is turning out to be a steal for the Brewers, as Milwaukee only gave up veteran pitcher Aaron Civale and cash considerations for the first baseman on June 13. While Vaughn might have a case to be in the top 10, he has much work before he becomes a legitimate contender for the NL MVP. Per FanDuel, Los Angeles Dodgers star slugger Shohei Ohtani leads the race with -20000 odds. Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber is second with +1800 odds. Those two players have been more consistent this season, whereas Vaughn has come on strong since leaving Chicago.
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is supposed to remain in charge of the team for years even after the sale. Given what just happened with the Boston Celtics, it might only be months. When the Grousbeck family sold the Celtics for $6.1B in March, ESPN reported that Wyc Grousbeck would stay on as the Celtics CEO and governor through the 2027-28 season. Now, new owner Bill Chisholm will take over once the sale is final. That should concern current Lakers team governor Jeanie Buss, whose family sold a majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to investor Mark Walter. Buss is supposed to stay on as team governor for "at least a number of years," according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, but new NBA owners haven't been keen on waiting to take control of teams recently. Mark Cuban thought he would continue running the Dallas Mavericks when he sold a controlling interest to the Adelson family in November 2023. Before the end of that season, when Dallas advanced to the NBA Finals, new team governor Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, was firmly in charge. General manager Nico Harrison reported directly to Dumont, which is how Luka Doncic ended up traded to the Lakers despite Cuban's objections. It might be different with the Lakers. Walter has owned a minority share in the Lakers since 2021, so he's had a working relationship with Buss. Her role as team governor may be a condition of the sale itself. With the team preparing for a long-term future with Doncic, Walter and his fellow owners might opt for continuity in the team governor role. But in general, people do not spend billions of dollars on a professional sports team so that someone else can be in charge. Buss is in charge of the Lakers now. Recent history says she won't be for long.
The New York Knicks imagine themselves as a championship contender, and those dreams looked like they may be rapidly approaching reality in last season's run to the Eastern Conference Finals. They've spent much of this offseason patching holes in their roster, requiring significantly more firepower from their bench to scare their opponents with a well-rounded rotation that they lacked in 2024-25. They're not looking to burst at the seams with reserve bucket-getters, but have done plenty to consolidate their backup guards and bigs with a summer of moves that's still continuing. Though their most recent on-court developments have provided the Knicks' hopes with real wind behind their sails, those wishes to bolster the frontcourt aren't new. New York reportedly tried to woo a veteran center in Daniel Theis over to last season's situation, but failed to seal the deal. Theis, now playing for AS Monaco, could have joined the Knicks mid-season last year before opting for a European return, according to BasketNews.com. He spent the first leg of the 2024-25 campaign with the New Orleans Pelicans, the sixth team that the 33-year-old's suited up for in the last five seasons. New York's offer gave Theis yet another chance to fill in as a role-playing big on another contender, but he chose to bet on himself. "I could have gone to the Knicks, for example, but it was more for insurance that Mitchell Robinson came back from a long injury," Theis said on a recent Euro Insiders podcast. "And then I talked to Tom Thibodeau and he said, 'Yeah, you will be like insurance in case he can't play and this and that.' It's like what I did with P.J. Tucker. "For me, it was like, 'Okay, if I sit for the rest of the year, what are my chances in the summer?' So if I’m like, 'Okay, I go overseas to Europe and play great, I might have a better chance.' That was my whole intention and thought behind it — just consider Europe and see what it is." Robinson did indeed manage to remain healthy when it counted, seeing the floor in all 18 Knicks playoff games after playing in just 17 during the regular season. His reliability as a defender and rebounder up front would have negated Theis' presence, as he would have spent all but a few garbage time minutes occupying the same seat on the bench that Tucker took in the postseason. Though he would've likely been constrained to a minimum contract that would've expired at season's end alongside other role playing veterans like Landry Shamet, Cameron Payne and Precious Achiuwa, he'd have been a little more playable than some other deep-cut Knicks as a rim-rolling center, and that's the sort of job that New York's looked to fill in the months since. Theis chose his path, and the Knicks stayed young in building a roster that's expected to blow every other 21st century Knicks team out of the water.
Dolphins fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief with the latest update on the injury to pass rusher Chop Robinson. The second-year defender had to be carted off the practice field Wednesday during a joint practice with the Detroit Lions. Robinson posted an update on social media a couple of hours later to let fans know he is “good” and the injury is “nothing serious.” It sounds like he avoided anything that would cause him to miss significant time, and the carting off the field was simply a precautionary measure. As a rookie, Robinson played in all 17 games for the Dolphins, starting one. He finished with 26 tackles, eight tackles for loss and six sacks. He finished fifth in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. Robinson was the No. 21 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He played two seasons for the Nittany Lions after starting his career at Maryland. Over the course of his collegiate career, Robinson finished with 60 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, three pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles. Robinson had a career high 5.5 sacks in 2022. As a member of the Class of 2021, Robinson was a four-star recruit out of Gaithersburg (M.D.) Quince Orchard, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 5 EDGE in the class and the No. 62 overall prospect in the class. The Dolphins have their next preseason game on Saturday against the Lions. We might not see Chop Robinson play in that contest, but it doesn’t mean the injury is a serious one and would likely only be a precautionary measure from the team as it prepares for the regular season. Tyreek Hill trade rumors Multiple NFL teams reportedly monitoring future with Dolphins In addition to Robinson, there’s been drama with the Dolphins lately. There are now rumors that Tyreek Hill could fetch some trade requests from other teams. “So his status is uncertain, with an oblique injury right now, as for when he gets back in the lineup, is still up in the air,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on SportsCenter. “Right now, I have talked to a few teams that are at least monitoring his future a little bit. Could he be a potential trade target? Now, I know the Dolphins earlier this summer were telling teams, no, we’re not trading Tyreek Hill, but they just, you know, wonder, is he going to be available? It could be wishful thinking. “Maybe they want him to be available, but he’s a player that when I bring up the teams and say, who’s sort of a trade target you’re watching? They bring up Tyreek Hill, so we’ll see. He’s a big option for Tua and that’d be a major move if they did move away from him.” On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this report.
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