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Fikayo Tomori stayed put at Milan in January despite receiving a few offers after falling out of favor in the weeks leading up to the window. He returned to prominence while the transfer market was open but has rarely seen the pitch afterward, Mediaset informs.
The Englishman has had the same trajectory under Paulo Fonseca and Sergio Conceiçao. He began as the starter and progressively lost minutes. The former Porto gaffer fielded him in the successful Supercoppa and a few games afterward. It didn’t last long, as the center-back was expelled against Empoli on February 8th and has barely played since. He came off the bench in the second leg versus Feyenoord and then rode the pine in all the ensuing matches.
Tomori nixed bids from Juventus and Tottenham to continue with Milan during the winter. The front office would have sold him if he wanted to. Instead, the boss affirmed his importance a few times in January.
The future of the 27-year-old will be a topic of conversation again in the summer. However, the Rossoneri will have a new director and likely a new manager. Their plans are fully up in the air. He’s under contract until 2027, therefore the club has time to decide what to do.
Our Take on Milan and Tomori
The coaching change was a factor, but his increased game time during the previous session also seemed a ploy to showcase him, as his valuation had taken a hit, or convince him that he’s still part of the plans. In reality, the explanation is simple, as he’s been the worst and least consistent performer among their options in the role. If they don’t qualify for the Champions League, they won’t need four starting-caliber ones.
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Liverpool Setting Arsenal Up for the Perfect Hijack, and It’s Not Isak
If there’s one transfer Arsenal should pull out all the stops to prevent, it’s Bradley Barcola to Liverpool. Arsenal may have hinted they won’t stand in the way of their alleged dream signing, Alexander Isak, joining the Reds, but the same cannot apply to Barcola. Arsenal desperately need someone with Barcola’s capabilities. Arsenal’s Left-Wing Problem For the left wing, Arsenal need a maverick like the PSG star, someone who can go left, go right, kill you inside or out. He can hold the width on the touchline or combine centrally with teammates. Throughout pre-season, Arsenal’s struggles to impact play from the left have been glaringly obvious. Gabriel Martinelli has failed to show signs that the 2022-23 version of himself is still hanging in there. Martinelli suddenly can’t beat defenders, and Leandro Trossard, who has yet to sign a new contract offer, doesn’t have the pace to stretch them. The Brazilian’s dip in form, in particular, has raised concerns that even the impact of a potential Eberechi Eze signing could be blunted, especially if his left-wing partner can’t beat defenders one-on-one. Arsenal Must Act Fast Arsenal have been linked with Barcola, but it’s Liverpool who are now preparing to enter the fray. The mere hint that the Reds want him should spook Arsenal. If Barcola joins Liverpool, it could be game over. Gooners should be furious if Barcola is available and Arsenal don’t make a move. If I’m Andrea Berta, I’m dropping an £80 million bid at PSG’s door for Barcola. Under normal circumstances, PSG may not want to lose him. But with Liverpool circling Isak and a hefty bid incoming, PSG could pivot and go on the offensive for the Newcastle man if Liverpool continue to dilly-dally. Forget Isak, Barcola is a superstar. With 41 goal contributions in 64 games while playing as PSG’s fourth option, imagine what he could do as Arsenal’s first-choice left winger. It would be frightening, but fortunately not for us Gooners! What are your thoughts on Barcola? What are Arsenal doing about a left winger? __________________________________________________________________________________________
Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
The Padres announced they’ve optioned JP Sears to Triple-A El Paso. They recalled reliever Sean Reynolds and will go with a nine-man bullpen in the short term. Sears will spend at least 15 days in the minors unless he’s brought up to replace a player going on the injured list. San Diego acquired Sears alongside Mason Miller in last week’s massive deadline deal. The 29-year-old southpaw made his team debut Monday night. He allowed five runs in as many innings on 10 hits and a walk against the Diamondbacks. Sears took the loss in a 6-2 defeat. He’d carried a 4.95 earned run average over 22 starts with the A’s. Monday's performance pushed his ERA to 5.12 across 116 innings. It’s a bottom-10 mark among pitchers to log at least 100 frames. Sears had the highest home run rate among that group, offsetting his nearly league-average 20.3% strikeout rate and solid 6% walk percentage. This is the first time in two-and-a-half years that Sears heads to the minors. He broke camp with the A’s in 2023 and has been in the majors since then. Sears has also avoided the injured list for that entire time. As a result, he’s tied for fifth in MLB with 87 starts since the beginning of the ’23 season. The durability is the big selling point, as his production (4.62 ERA/4.56 SIERA) over that stretch is that of a fifth or sixth starter. The demotion shouldn’t have any impact on Sears’ service trajectory. He has already surpassed the three-year mark and will qualify for arbitration next winter. He’s under team control for three seasons beyond this one. While he’ll probably be back up at some point this year, it may require an injury elsewhere in the rotation. San Diego optioned Randy Vásquez over the weekend. They have a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and deadline acquisition Nestor Cortes. Darvish and Cortes will get the ball for the next two outings. San Diego is off Thursday and could turn back to Pivetta and Cease on extra rest for their first two games of the weekend series against the Red Sox. That’d point to the series finale on Aug. 10 as Michael King’s return date. King threw 61 pitches in what is expected to be his final rehab start on Sunday, via the MLB.com injury tracker. He’d be on six days' rest for his first MLB appearance since he went on the injured list in late May with a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder.
Blue Jays demolish MLB records with eye-popping Coors Field performance
DENVER — There's nothing like coming to Coors Field to fix what ails you. Just ask the Toronto Blue Jays. Losers of six of eight games before arriving in Denver, the Blue Jays posted an MLB-record 63 hits in a three-game series while easily sweeping a road series from the Colorado Rockies. By totaling 25 hits on Monday night, 14 on Tuesday and 24 in Wednesday's matinee, the Blue Jays set a new MLB standard for offensive prowess. Toronto passed the MLB record of 62 hits in a three-game series, set by the Boston Red Sox in a June 7-9, 1950 matchup against the St. Louis Browns. As part of the hit parade, Toronto smashed 13 home runs, the most ever surrendered by the Rockies in a three-game set. Included in that barrage were three hits by Bo Bichette, including a three-run shot on Wednesday afternoon that got the Blue Jays rolling in the third inning. Kyle Freeland, Wednesday's starter for Colorado, allowed seven hits in his 4.2 innings of work. That was the fewest amount of hits given up by a Rockies starter against Toronto, as Rockies starter Tanner Gordon allowed 11 in 2.2 frames on Monday, while Anthony Molina surrendered nine in 5.0 innings on Tuesday. "We need to pitch with confidence as starting pitchers. We need to command the baseball better in general," said Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer as his team slipped to 30-84 on the season. "We have to put hitters away when we have that opportunity." That was something Colorado couldn't do against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, as their first six runs of a 20-1 blowout win came with two outs in the frame. Wednesday's offensive explosion helped Toronto outscore the Rockies, 45-6, in the series. That run differential was the second-most in MLB's modern era and the most runs scored by an MLB team in a three-game series since the 2019 Chicago Cubs scored 47 runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates from Sept. 13-15, 2019. In all, the 45 runs, 63 hits and 13 home runs allowed in the series were each the most allowed by Colorado pitchers in a three-game set in franchise history. How bad did it get for Colorado at the end of the series? Down 12-1 entering the ninth inning on Wednesday, the Rockies put catcher Austin Nola on the mound for his first-ever pitching appearance. He was nothing like his younger brother, Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola, as he promptly gave up four consecutive doubles, including RBI shots from Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as part of eight hits and eight runs posted by the Blue Jays against him. "It hurts when you get beat that bad for three games," Nola said. "We can compete with anybody. I know we can. We're all Major League players, so it definitely hurts. We're going to have to flush this one and get back out there on Friday in Arizona and have a new competitive attitude." All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Tonka Hemingway Earning First Teams Reps With Las Vegas Raiders
Former South Carolina defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway is earning first-team reps with the Las Vegas Raiders. NFL preseason games will continue over the next few days, and one former South Carolina Gamecock has a major opportunity ahead of him with the Las Vegas Raiders. According to recent reports, Tonka Hemingway has been earning first-team reps with the Raiders during training camp. The former fourth-round pick is on track to earn playing time during his first season with the organization, but he will have to earn those minutes during preseason games over the next few weeks. "It's been fun," Hemingway said on Tuesday. "Coming out here and competing. Getting to know some of the guys. Just learning from all of them it means a lot." Hemingway was asked if any specific player has been helpful to his development so far, and the former Gamecock said the whole team has been beneficial for him. "Really the whole room I would say," Hemingway conitnued. "All of the vets, just listening to them talk. They may not be talking to you but may parents always said just listen. So just listening to them, hearing them talk, seeing how they work, take everything in, that's been real good." Hemingway was a difference maker for the Gamecocks last season. In 2024, he finished the season with 25 tackles, four tackles for loss and four sacks. His final season helped land him with the Raiders, to which he would later sign a four-year deal worth $4.87 million with a $666K signing bonus. On the Raiders' unofficial depth chart, Hemingway is listed as the third-string defensive end. He will have the opportunity to improve his slot, but regardless, it sounds like Hemingway has earned the right to playing time this season.
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