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Former major league reliever Scott Sauerbeck has died, the Pirates announced on Thursday morning. He was 53.
Sauerbeck was a Cincinnati native who attended Miami University in Ohio. The Mets selected him in the 23rd round of the 1994 draft. Sauerbeck pitched four years in the New York system. They lost him to the Pirates in the ’98 Rule 5 draft. The 6’3″ southpaw would spend the majority of his career in Pittsburgh.
As a rookie, Sauerbeck fired 67 2/3 innings with an even 2.00 earned run average. He tossed a career-high 75 2/3 frames the following season, posting a 4.04 ERA. He struggled in ’01 but rebounded with arguably his best season the year after that. Sauerbeck pitched to a 2.30 ERA across 62 2/3 innings while striking out nearly 28% of opposing hitters.
Pittsburgh dealt Sauerbeck to the Red Sox at the ’03 trade deadline. While he struggled down the stretch in Boston, the deal allowed him to pitch in the postseason for the only time. He made one appearance in that year’s ALCS loss to the Yankees. Sauerbeck missed the following season to injury. He concluded his career with brief stints in Cleveland and Oakland.
Over parts of seven seasons, Sauerbeck pitched to a 3.82 ERA. He recorded 20 wins, struck out 389 hitters, and finished 98 games. MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, loved ones, former teammates and friends.
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Milwaukee Brewers: Nestor Cortes Gone, Standout Rookie 3B Has Emerged as Gem from Would-Be Lose-Lose Trade
Starting pitcher Nestor Cortes was the centerpiece of the Milwaukee Brewers‘ return haul from trading co-closer Devin Williams to the Yankees last December. Eight months later, Cortes is a member of the Padres, logging all of two starts in Milwaukee before injuries sapped his season. Over in New York, Williams lost his closer’s job, got it back, and has had one good month en route to a 5.04 ERA. Without the other part of Milwaukee’s incoming package, then minor-league third baseman Caleb Durbin, the trade would look at this juncture like a lose-lose scenario. Thanks to Durbin, it’s been anything but for the Brewers. Caleb Durbin is Milwaukee Brewers’ diamond in the rough Durbin didn’t make the spring training cut. Instead, the Brewers went with fellow rookie Oliver Dunn as the team’s starting third baseman. Durbin went down to Triple-A Nashville. Dunn didn’t last. After he struggled through the first three weeks of the season, he and Durbin switched places and the latter hasn’t squandered his shot. Following a slow start, he’s turned up the heat at the dish while playing outstanding defense. He’s had an OPS around .800 for over two months now and has his season slashline up to .263/.344/.372. His 2.2 WAR in 86 games played is tied for 10th among all third basemen, making him one of the position’s more valuable players. The Brewers saw plenty of promise in Durbin when they traded for him, coming off a strong season with New York’s Triple-A affiliate. Even though he didn’t, he was a decent candidate to make the team out of spring. The team likely didn’t see a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate, which he is. By WAR, he and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin have contributed the same value to their teams, more than any other NL rookies. Cortes, on the other hand, was supposed to be a consistent cog in the rotation. Last year for the Yankees, he made 30 starts and recorded a 3.77 ERA. Instead, he’s still making his way back from injury ahead of start number three this season. In San Diego. Of course, Milwaukee did turn him into outfielder Brandon Lockridge, who will provide depth while Jackson Chourio is hurt. To dump Cortes’ salary, however, they had to attach a prospect, infielder Jorge Quintana. Neither Cortes nor Williams has been what the receiving team hoped. Both will be free agents this offseason. Only the Yankees, however, are at risk of walking away empty-handed. With years of team control remaining, the Brewers have in Durbin what looks to be their third baseman of both the present and future. The trade didn’t deliver according to expectations, but it’s hard to be too upset with the results.
Al Horford to Warriors Receives Update After Jonathan Kuminga News
The Golden State Warriors’ offseason has been dominated by the unresolved standoff with forward Jonathan Kuminga. After a 2024-25 season where he averaged 15.3 points per game, Kuminga declined the team’s two-year, $45 million offer, citing issues with the second-year team option and the lack of a no-trade clause. Kuminga has also drawn interest from other teams—most notably the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns—but Golden State has shut down all trade discussions, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. The franchise has instead chosen to wait, leaving major offseason decisions on hold, including the potential signing of veteran big man Al Horford, who remains a free agent. Kuminga Set to Stay With the Golden State Warriors With the Warriors determined to stand their ground on the Kuminga saga, and the 6-foot-7 forward yet to accept their terms or the $7.9 million qualifying offer, all signs point to one likely scenario – Kuminga remaining a Warrior for at least one more season. According to Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard, Golden State has no plans to trade Kuminga for the bare minimum this summer. He is expected to return to the Warriors’ roster—either by signing their current offer or accepting the qualifying offer. “The word I got when I checked in with a Warriors source on Sunday: Kuminga won't be traded this summer,” Kawakami wrote. “He'll be back on the Warriors' roster to start the season. And it'll either come when he signs the Warriors' offer or accepts the $7.9 million one-year qualifying offer.” The Warriors refusing to budge on their Kuminga stance means they will maintain the flexibility needed to make other moves that have been on hold — like the signing of Boston Celtics free agent Al Horford. What the New Jonathan Kuminga Report Means for Al Horford As it stands, it appears that the Warriors’ signing of Horford could be happening sooner than later. ESPN’s Anthony Slater noted towards the end of last month that Golden State identified Horford as its main target for a stretch-shooting center since the start of the offseason. However, his decision was believed to hinge on how the Kuminga situation played out. ESPN’s Marc Spears also recently noted that even players like Gary Payton II are waiting to see what Kuminga decides, further illustrating how his contract saga is impacting the entire roster. “I saw Gary Payton II two days ago. I'm like, what's going on? He's like waiting on [Jonathan Kuminga]. He is, Al Horford is.” With Kuminga presumably set to return next season, and seemingly under the Warriors' financial terms, the team will retain cap flexibility and avoid losing a core piece for nothing. It also positions them to move quickly on Horford or similar targets to solidify their frontcourt. If Kuminga opts for the qualifying offer, Golden State keeps his rights but risks future complications with trade leverage. Either way, the outcome of this standoff will likely shape how the Warriors enter training camp—and whether they can maximize what may be the final competitive window of the Stephen Curry era.
Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love Just Put the 'Aaron Rodgers Is a Bad Teammate' Narrative to Bed Once and For All
The story is very familiar to Green Bay Packers fans: when the team decided to select Aaron Rodgers in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft, their incumbent quarterback, Brett Favre, was not happy. And he let everyone know about it, including his successor. For his part, Rodgers kept his head down and picked up whatever he could from watching the eventual Hall of Famer play the quarterback position. Fast forward 15 years to 2020, and Rodgers found himself in the same position as Favre: feeling like he was on top of his game, but seeing Green Bay take his eventual successor in the NFL Draft. That, of course, was Jordan Love, the current Packers starting quarterback. Green Bay Packers Quarterback Jordan Love, Once Again, Describe How Well Aaron Rodgers Treated Him Over the past several years, there has been a narrative pushed by many members of the national media that Rodgers is a bad teammate. Some of these claims started to pop up during his final years with the Packers, but they gained steam and notoriety while he was with the New York Jets. The only problem with these claims is that they hardly ever came from players that actually were teammates with Rodgers. And, for his part, Love has always praised his predecessor for how welcoming he was despite the narrative surrounding them immediately following the 2020 NFL Draft. In his recent post on the Players Tribune, Love once again praised Rodgers for what he did for him as a mentor and teammate: “I don’t think it really set in for me until I started doing interviews, and every question was basically, ‘What about Aaron?’ “In my mind, I was like, ‘What do you mean? He’s one of the best to ever do it. I’m about to learn everything I can from this dude.’ “But before me and Aaron could even talk, the narrative was rolling. And it’s so crazy to me, because from the jump, Aaron was great with me. He laid out how he was in my same situation, and that he wanted to make sure there was no hostility. I told him I just wanted to learn and soak it all in. “I mean, I’d been a QB2 for a lot of my life. For me, it was nothing new. It was perfect, actually. Think about it: you’re coming into this league at 21 years old. It’s a different world. I’m not even talking about just football. You have to be able to command a room and know how to talk to different guys, how to motivate them — what to say, what not to say. I got to watch Aaron and how he handled those situations, and that was invaluable.” Love went on to describe how he learned from watching his legendary predecessor, how he picked up on when defenses were making substitutions too late, how he built chemistry with Davante, how he “manipulated” defenses instead of just “playing” against them. He also said that the biggest thing he learned from Rodgers was that the most important thing in the NFL, in games, in practices, in everything, is to be consistent. And when it came time for Love to take over as the Packers starting quarterback, he knew what was expected. So did his mother, he told him, “Big shoes to fill. You going to be alright? You gotta play good, or they’ll get another quarterback.” Fortunately, for Love and the Packers, he has been as good as they could have hoped and continues to get better. And Rodgers’ mentoring and welcoming demeanor played a big role in that.
Broncos' Sean Payton adds to Bo Nix hype with bold prediction
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton believes his team is a legitimate Super Bowl contender after quarterback and 2024 first-round draft pick Bo Nix was better than advertised as a rookie starter. During a recent chat with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Payton gave the Nix hype train some extra momentum via a bold prediction regarding what the 25-year-old will be a couple of years down the road. "I honestly think he’s gonna be one of the top quarterbacks within the next two years," Payton said about Nix. "I think he’s going to be a superstar." Some suggested in the spring of 2024 that Payton and Co. reached when they made Nix the 12th overall pick of last year's draft. Nix then went 10-7 as a starter as he guided the club to a playoff berth. Per Pro Football Reference, Nix ended the 2024 regular season ranked sixth in the NFL with 29 touchdown passes, 12th with 3,775 passing yards and 19th among qualified players with a 56.8 adjusted QBR. In total, 23 quarterbacks took more sacks than Nix (24) during the campaign. According to StatMuse, no signal-caller took more sacks than Russell Wilson did with the Broncos from Week 1 of the 2022 campaign through the end of the 2023 regular season. "Who gets the blame? 'God, the line’s gotta get better.' And it’s always the line. The sack is a quarterback stat," Payton added. "We had 24 [in 2024]. I had Bobby Hoying [in the late 1990s], third-round pick. Man, he was a great-looking prospect. He took three or four sacks a game. It’s a processing thing. It’s decision-making, multi-tasking, ball out." As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Broncos at -140 betting odds to make the playoffs for the upcoming season. Somewhat interestingly, that same outlet had Nix and Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams at +3500 odds to claim the Most Valuable Player Award for the campaign. If Nix can follow in Stafford's footsteps through early 2026, Payton could be right about the current Denver squad competing for more than just a postseason berth.
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