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The Los Angeles Dodgers will head into the season with the same catching duo they've had for the last several seasons. The duo of Will Smith and veteran Austin Barnes has been a staple behind the plate for Los Angeles, and that will be no different this year.
Smith is dealing with a minor ankle injury to start the spring, but it's not expected to cause him to miss much if any, time. He should be healthy enough to play on Opening Day in Tokyo when the Dodgers host the Chicago Cubs for a two-game series.
Barnes has been with the Dodgers for all 10 seasons of his MLB career, and he is well aware of his role on the team. The last time Barnes played more than 100 games in a season was in 2017, when he appeared in 102. Last season, he appeared in just 54 games, the least of his career.
The platoon between Smith and Barnes is expected to be much of the same this season, with Smith getting a majority of the playing time. If the Dodgers have a week in which they have a game all seven days of the week, it would be expected that Smith would catch five of those seven games, and Barnes would get two of them.
The Dodgers have MLB's No. 2-ranked catcher , Dalton Rushing, who could be called up to the big leagues and make his MLB debut at any given point this season.
More must-reads:
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King of New York: Pete Alonso breaks major Mets all-time record
Pete Alonso is now the New York Mets' all-time home run king. With his opposite-field, two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, Alonso clubbed the 253rd and 254th home runs of his Mets career, moving him into sole possession of first place on the team's all-time list. He moved two home runs ahead of the previous record-holder, Darryl Strawberry, who hit 252 home runs with the team between the 1983 and 1990 seasons. Here is a look at his record-setting home run. Later in the bottom of the sixth inning, Alonso hit his 254th home run: Along with the all-time Mets home run lead, Alonso is also the Mets' single-season home run leader with 53 home runs during the 2019 season. Strawberry congratulated Alonso on breaking his record: His home runs on Tuesday were his 27th and 28th of the season. It is a big deal for Alonso because there was some doubt this past offseason about whether he would have a chance to set this record. Even though he was close, the uncertainty around his future, given his free-agent status, created a lot of questions about where he would play. Ultimately, the Mets re-signed him to a two-year, $54 million contract that includes an opt-out clause following the 2025 season. That opt-out will again create some uncertainty about his future, but it is pretty clear Alonso still has a lot of power left in his bat. Whether he returns to the Mets or goes somewhere else, he will remain the franchise's greatest home run hitter for the foreseeable future. He is now on top of the record books for the single season and career.
Oregon suspends former five-star WR recruit indefinitely
Oregon wide receiver Jurrion Dickey has struggled to live up to expectations in his first two seasons with the Ducks, and he is now in a terrible position heading into 2025 as well. Dickey has been suspended indefinitely by Oregon, head coach Dan Lanning announced on Tuesday. Lanning also suggested that Dickey may not play for the Ducks again. "We have two team rules; that’s respectful, be on time,” Lanning said, via James Crepea of The Oregonian. “There’s some pieces of that where I felt like he needed a break from us and we needed a break from that so we could focus on what’s in front of us right now. "Wishing him nothing but the best, as far as success and want to see him get back to where he can be a contributor somewhere; that might be here that might be somewhere else.” Dickey was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the top wide receivers in the country when he came out of Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California, in 2023. He suffered an injury in his senior year in high school and redshirted as a freshman at Oregon. Dickey has two catches for 14 years during his time with the Ducks. Oregon went 13-1 in Lanning's third season with the program last season. The Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Insider: Steelers Now Have Desire To Add At Wide Receiver Via Trade Or Free Agency
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had an eventful offseason in 2025, and the fan base has finally been able to catch a glimpse of what the team might look like throughout training camp and the team's first preseason game. Pittsburgh will be relying on its defense as usual, but hopefully the passing game looks a little better than it has in years past with Aaron Rodgers under center. Other factors will play a part in that, such as the offensive line and the receivers, and both of those areas are spots where the fan base is not too confident. DK Metcalf is the top wide receiver for Pittsburgh, but behind him, there are some question marks. Calvin Austin III proved he can be a reliable target during the 2024 season, but he is currently dealing with an abdominal injury. Roman Wilson is another player who the coaching staff might not know what to expect, especially after missing basically his entire rookie year in 2024. Other wideouts in the room include Robert Woods, Scotty Miller, and Ben Skowronek. Woods hasn't made much noise throughout training camp, and Skowronek is reliable, but is mainly known for his special teams play. Miller is on the fringe of the roster and seems to be one of Rodgers' favorites, but according to insider Mark Kaboly on the most recent episode of Kaboly + Mack, the organization will likely be looking to add at wide receiver in the near future. "I don't think any time within the next week, but something might be coming down the pike here," Kaboly said. "I'll put it this way, I would not be shocked within the next 10 to 12 days that they add a receiver. I was under the impression that they're just gonna play it out like they were right now. We have Wilson, Austin III, we're going with that. I was pretty much sure of that. I don't know if I'm as sure of that anymore." Wilson played well in his first preseason action against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but with Austin's injury, the team would probably feel better bringing another weapon in. This could be a veteran free agent, or the organization could wait until other teams around the league cut down their rosters and sign a wide receiver that way. One veteran wide receiver that could be on Pittsburgh's watch-list is Odell Beckham Jr. The wide receiver denied retirement rumors on Tuesday, and he seems to be looking to play in 2025. He also mentioned recently that he has spoken to Rodgers. There are some other veterans available on the open market, including both Amari Cooper and Gabe Davis. Pittsburgh has already brought Davis in for a visit, but he left without a deal. Some have speculated that he was not fully recovered from his meniscus injury, which could mean he might be an option further down the road. Steelers Fans Should Keep Their Eyes On Various Receiver Rooms Around The League One team that the Steelers could look to steal a wide receiver from is the New England Patriots. It does not seem like second-year wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk is going to make the final roster, especially since he is playing under a different head coach versus the one that drafted him. It is completely reasonable to think that either Polk, Kendrick Bourne, or Kayshon Boutte could be on the chopping block. If that is the case, Pittsburgh could swoop in and try to pick up whoever is let go. Another team to keep an eye on is the Green Bay Packers, although that wide receiver room is extremely beat up with injuries right now and it is hard to project who will be on the final roster. Do you want Pittsburgh to add at wide receiver?
Dolphins 2025 Camp: Detroit FirstJoint Practice Recap
DETROIT — The Miami Dolphins got their first chance to see how they measure up against the NFC powerhouse Detroit Lions on Wednesday, and this one session showed a team with a lot of work to do before their regular season opener. Put mildly, things didn't go well for the Dolphins on any level, including an injury that saw 2024 first-round pick Chop Robinson leave the field on a cart. While it was too early to know the extent of Robinson's injury, there can be no doubt the Dolphins were outclassed. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who continues to deal with an oblique injury, did not take part in any competitive drill, which obviously some a factor in 11-on-11 work with the first-team Dolphins offense. Also not practicing were OLB Jaelan Phillips, RT Austin Jackson, LB Mohamed Kamara, S Ashtyn Davis and FB Alec Ingold. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who was kept out of the preseason opener because of a minor injury, took part in some competitive sessions but on a limited basis. The teams practiced for a solid two hours and will go again Thursday morning ahead of their preseason matchup at Ford Field on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. PRACTICE TAKEAWAYS -- With competitive action going on two fields at the same time, it's difficult for any reporter to see everything that's going on, so we teamed up with Detroit Lions on SI Publisher John Maakaron to have everything covered. -- To that end, I watched the Dolphins offense vs. the Lions defense and Maakaron watched the Lions offense vs. the Dolphins defense. -- The last session of the practice was a two-minute drill by each team's No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense. -- After the last play, when a flag was thrown against linebacker Jordyn Brooks for defensive holding, the teams started walking toward their respective huddle before there was a minor skirmish involving new Dolphins safety Ifeatu Melifonwu against his former Lions teammate Jameson Williams. THE DOLPHINS OFFENSE -- Before we get to specific plays, let's just say it was a really rough outing for the offense. -- Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa didn't throw a pick after his rough three-INT joint practice against the Chicago Bears on Friday, but he also didn't have a touchdown — unless you count a swing pass to Jaylen Waddle in a red zone drill where Waddle may or may not have been able to break a tackle around the 5-yard line and the officials marked him down — and failed to connect on several deep shots in the passing game. He clearly was not happy with the offensive performance when he spoke to reporters after practice. -- With Hill not doing any competitive drills and Waddle getting limited reps, it was an opportunity for the rest of the wide receivers to shine, but they came up short. There were a handful of drops on either easy or very catchable passes, but worse was a lack of separation on a lot of routes. -- Moving on to specific noteworthy plays involving the Dolphins offense, we can start with Dee Eskridge dropping a pass after beating Lions DB Tyson Russell in the one-on-one receiver vs. DB drill. -- One positive play in that session was rookie free agent Andrew Armstrong catching a pass on a slant against Lions free agent pick-up D.J. Reed, the former Jets starting cornerback. -- On the last play on that session, Erik Ezukanma got behind veteran DB Rock Ya-Sin to catch a TD pass from Zach Wilson. -- The seven-on-seven session started on a great note for the Dolphins, with Tagovailoa completing a pass to De'Von Achane down the right sideline over LB Jack Campbell for a sizable gain (30 yards maybe). -- But the drops continued with Malik Washington failing to catch a pass thrown slightly behind him by Tagovailoal -- Here comes a bad sequence for Zach Wilson, who throws two picks in five passes. -- The first comes when he's picked off by Ian Kennelly after his pass to a tightly covered Eskridge is tipped by Miami native Dicaprio Bootle. -- On the second, Wilson was picked off by good-looking first-year cornerback Nick Whiteside, who had good coverage against Tarik Black. -- Quinn Ewers actually probably was the most effective Dolphins quarterback on this day, though it was a low bar. He started off with a nice throw for a completion to Armstrong. -- Tua's closest call on a deep — or at least mid-range — throw came when he lofted a pass to tight end Julian Hill over the middle after he got behind linebacker Jack Campbell but Hill couldn't make what was a very catchable play. -- As an example of the kind of day it was for the offense, Tua had completion to Eskridge after escaping the pocket under pressure, but Eskridge was flagged for having stepped out of bounds first. -- Tahj Washington, who's had a very good camp, dropped a very catchable ball from Wilson and ackowledged by doing push-ups behind the offensive huddle. -- At the start of an 11-on-11 period, Tua was sacked when a group of Lions immediately broke through the line. -- This is the part where we mention the Dolphins offense was penalized a couple of times, including three holding calls. -- Eskridge came up with a nice low reception on a Wilson pass. -- But Wilson came back and badly misfired while rolling to his left when he had Ezukanma wide open about 12 yards downfield. -- Tua against was victimized by his receiver when NWI failed to make a low catch over the middle. -- Wilson was sacked a bit later, with the first Lions defender getting to him being linebacker Grant Stuard. Yep, the guy who created a storm with his comments about the Dolphins on Tuesday. -- Ezukanma later was flagged for offensive pass interference against Avonte Maddox. -- Tua throws the ball away while under pressure after Derrick Barnes beats Patrick Paul. -- Paul later was flagged for holding Chad Hutchinson after he stood him up, Hutchinson kept going and Paul wound up with arm around Hutchinson’s neck and threw him to the ground. Let's just say there have been a lot more egregious holding situation that have gone uncalled. -- Eskridge dropped a wide receiver screen. -- Tarik Black came up with the only clear touchdown of the day for the Dolphins when he made a great catch to keep his feet in bounds on a short pass by Wilson. -- At the start of another 11-on-11 period, Tua was sacked by Hutchinson twice in three plays. -- Wilson also was sacked during that period, but that one was a coverage sack. THE DOLPHINS DEFENSE -- This was the report from colleague John Maakaron of Detroit Lions On SI: -- Overall, it was not a good day for the Dolphins' defense. Detroit's offensive line was able to create space between the guard and tackles for multiple chunk run plays. Detroit's tight ends also were willing blockers. -- In the early competitive periods, which featured wide receivers battling against Dolphins defensive backs, Amon-Ra St. Brown was dominant. In one rep, he put a move on Kendall Sheffield and quickly blew past him for the easy completion. -- Detroit did have difficulties connecting early in the competitive period. Goff could not connect with Jameson Williams with Sheffield in coverage. -- Rookie cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. was battling Lions wideout Ronnie Bell early, with each wining a rep. -- The one-on-one pit drills saw a very competitive period between the Lions offensive line and the Dolphins defensive line. -- Those Dolphins with early clear wins with power-rush moves included Quinton Bell, Alex Huntley, Ben Stille, Derrick McLendon, Zach Sieler, Zeek Biggers, McLendon again, and Grayson Murphy. -- Overall, Amon-Ra St. Brown was simply a matchup nightmare for the Dolphins' secondary. He was able to get in space and was open whenever he needed to make a play. -- The Dolphins defensive line brought pressure and did force multiple sacks, including Murphy and Bradley Chubb on the first play of a first-team offensive period. Safety Dante Trader Jr., who missed the joint practice against the Bears with a training camp injury, was a willing tackler and demonstrated physicality all throughout practice. -- Jack Jones Jr. also popped for the Dolphins, as he showcased quick burst to the football and blew up a run call to Craig Reynolds during a third-team period. -- The Dolphins' best period on defense was the second-unit against Detroit's second-team offense. The Lions made numerous mistakes and the Dolphins second-team defensive line took advantage of a young Giovanni Manu. In one stretch, Manu jumped early and was beaten clean in back-to-back reps. Murphy would have had a sack, as he powered through the blocks of Manu and Kayode Awosika. -- Miami was simply outmatched in the red zone period. Goff found Jameson Williams open for a touchdown on the first play in the red zone. Jahmyr Gibbs had a touchdown run and St. Brown outworked Marshall and held on for a touchdown that had the football pinned to his arm after battling the defensive back. -- Jack Jones was not pleased with all the trash talk coming from Detroit's sideline. He grew increasingly frustrated during the red zone period and got into a skirmish with Isaac TeSlaa following a David Montgomery touchdown rush. -- One of the best pass rushes of the day for the Dolphins came from rookie Kenneth Grant, who used his power-rush moves to push back right guard Tate Ratledge into Jared Goff for a sack. -- Miami's third-team defense was able to capitalize on errors by Detroit before the situational period. Sione Vaki had the football punched out by Biggers and was recovered by Miami. TeSlaa had an uncharacteristic drop from Kyle Allen. -- The Dolphins defense, in a situational period with 54 seconds left in the second-quarter, did little to stop Detroit's offense. -- Goff found St. Brown with Cornell Armstrong in coverage for a 15-yard gain. Goff connected with tight end Brock Wright and Ronnie Bell. Nearing the red zone at the 27-yard line, Goff connected with Shane Zylstra. Goff could not connect with St. Brown on 2nd-and-12 and the practice ended with a penalty on the Dolphins defense for illegal contact in the middle of the field.
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