Sports
Yankees’ Offseason Turmoil: Can They Recover from Soto’s Exit and a Spring Training Curse?
Christmas hadn’t even come, and New York Yankees fans probably felt like Santa Claus was never going to bring them another World Series trophy again.
On the heels of losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the biggest stage, the Yankees also lost slugger Juan Soto in a defection to the crosstown New York Mets in December. Being handed the biggest free-agent contract ever by Mets owner Steve Cohen, Soto was another in a continuing line of top free agents who chose not to fall in with the Bronx Bombers.
It seemed like too much indignity to bear. But general manager Brian Cashman was going to remove any egg sitting on his face and try to make an omelet anyway. He had a Plan B.
“In Juan Soto’s case, he was a generational talent that came off the board and went a different direction,” Cashman told reporters ahead of spring training. “So we adjusted.”
The Yankees traded with the Cubs for slugger Cody Bellinger and added closer Devin Williams in a trade with the Brewers. The big splash in free agency came with left-hander Max Fried, and they’re pinning hopes on slugger Paul Goldschmidt returning to form at first base after two declining seasons with the Cardinals. He replaces Anthony Rizzo. That should be a good swap, though.
They also took a flier on Carlos Carrasco. It’s not an even trade with the Mets for Soto, but it has to do for the moment. Right-hander Fernando Cruz is a promising bullpen addition from the Reds. Left-hander Tim Hill re-upped a week before spring training started. Left-hander Brent Headrick was a savvy waiver claim from the Twins. Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, a former annoyance with the Rays, signed in the waning days of spring training.
But more curveballs were coming in spring training thanks to an ever-expanding list of injuries. Biggest of all, ace right-hander Gerrit Cole is out for the season with Tommy John surgery. Can’t really plan for that.
But wait, there’s more—or is it less? Postseason hero Giancarlo Stanton felt something akin to tennis elbow in both arms. He’s out indefinitely. Infielder DJ LeMahieu is injured, too. And Cole wasn’t the only member of the starting rotation to go down. Luis Gil has a strained lat, and Clarke Schmidt has rotator cuff tendinitis. Bullpen depth Jake Cousins, Scott Effross and Ian Hamilton started the season unavailable, as did free agent Tyler Matzek, though he’s expected back any moment. Hamilton’s injury is a viral illness, so that’s better than a strain, right?
It was like somebody was messing with a Yankees voodoo doll. (Was it you, Santa?) Did Cashman have a Plan C through J to follow up? No matter, it was darn inconvenient considering who Cashman let go from the 2024 roster.
Left-hander Nestor Cortes was part of the cost for Williams, along with infield prospect Caleb Durbin. Utility player Jon Berti and reliever Tim Mayza were non-tendered. Lou Trivino had his option declined. Tommy Kahnle went to free agency. It might all seem short-sighted now to let these players go, but how was Cashman to know about the voodoo doll?
Also, Dom Smith had a promising camp as a free agent, but he opted out of his minor league deal. Does nobody want to be here?
All in all, first impressions for 2025 went OK on opening day at Yankee Stadium, with Bellinger and Williams helping the Yankees win their opener against the Brewers. Williams needed a little drama to give him some juice, so he worked out of a bases-loaded jam against his old team. Consider it a little karmic payback for making him shave his beard and then, literally a day later, changing the Yankees’ infamous facial hair policy.
Fried gets his first crack at taking over for Cole on Saturday when he takes the mound in a start against Cortes. That won’t make anyone squirm in their seats a little bit, will it?
The Yankees still have Aaron Judge and enough depth to be contenders in the AL East and perhaps more, but they have little margin for error and no tolerance for additional significant injuries. Here’s a mission for manager Aaron Boone: Find that voodoo doll and bury it in Monument Park.
Sports
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) looks on before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Lions running back David Montgomery “wants out” of Detroit after three seasons, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Montgomery, however, immediately appeared to refute the report on X, posting: “Damn, Dmo told you that?”
The ESPN report claims the Lions would want “a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder)” in the 2026 NFL Draft in return for Montgomery, who turns 29 in June and is owed $6 million next season.
The report follows general manager Brad Holmes’ remarks after the season about Montgomery being unhappy with his playing time in 2025. Sharing a backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs, Montgomery rushed for a career-low 716 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games (no starts).
“Those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player,” Holmes said of Montgomery in January. “He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him.”
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Holmes said the situation with Montgomery is “fluid.” He signed a two-year extension during the 2024 season that runs through the end of the 2027 campaign.
“Yeah, I have been in touch with David’s agent, and his representation,” Holmes revealed. “Obviously, we love David, he’s a great player, we love to have him, you know, kind of want to put last year in the rear view, and just move forward. But, obviously, a player has to want to be at a certain place as well. The conversations are still fluid, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Montgomery has rushed for 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns in 45 games (28 starts) in three seasons with Detroit (2023-25). He has 76 catches for 650 yards in that span.
He began his career with the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the third round in 2019. Montgomery rushed for 3,609 yards and 26 scores in 60 games (51 starts) with the Bears (2019-22).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough joins U.S. roster for WBC
Jun 18, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (33) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images New York Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was added to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
The 34-year-old reliever replaces Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who is dealing with low back tightness. Ryan moves into the designated pitcher pool, meaning he is eligible for a call-up after each round of the WBC.
Yarbrough went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA and one save in 19 games (eight starts) during his first season with the Yankees in 2025, striking out 55 batters and walking 19 in 64 innings.
Ryan Yarbrough has been added to our roster for the World Baseball Classic!#ForGlory???? pic.twitter.com/RrtKJQ20gz
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) March 1, 2026
Team USA will play its first game of the 2026 WBC on Friday night, meeting Brazil in a Pool B contest in Houston.
Yarbrough has a career record of 56-41 with a 4.22 ERA and four saves in 215 games (76 starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2018-22), Kansas City Royals (2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-24), Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Yankees. The side-arming southpaw signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal in November to return to New York in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ex-pitcher Dan Serafini gets life sentence for '21 murder
Dan Serafini (file photo) pitched in MLB with seven teams. He was convited of first-degree murder. Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for the 2021 shootings of his in-laws in North Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Serafini, 52, was convicted in July of the first-degree murder of father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted first-degree murder of mother-in-law Wendy Wood during a burglary. Spohr, 70, died from a single gunshot and Wood, then 68, survived but died by suicide the following year.
In the courtroom on Friday in Auburn, Calif., Placer County prosecutor Morgan Gire described Spohr and Wood as loving grandparents.
“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence,” Gire said.
Serafini, who pitched for six MLB teams from 1996 to 2007, addressed the court and maintained his innocence. He said he was out partying with his wife, Erin Spohr, at the time of the shooting and referred to himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes,” according to MyNews4.
The Minnesota Twins selected Serafini, a native of the San Francisco area, with the No. 26 overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 1996 and went on to appear in 104 games (33 starts) with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies before his retirement in 2007.
He had a 15-16 record with a 6.04 ERA and one save. He threw 263 2/3 innings and struck out 127 batters.
–Field Level Media
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
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