Sports
Freddy Fermin, Royals look to capture series against Rays
Apr 29, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Carlos Estevez (53), catcher Freddy Fermin (34), first baseman Salvador Perez (13) and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) celebrate after defeatingt the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images The Kansas City Royals started their six-game swing through the American League East with a win Tuesday night in Tampa against the Rays, tallying their seventh victory in the past eight games.
After that 3-1 victory, the Royals could capture their third consecutive series on Wednesday in the middle game of the three-game set.
Much of the credit for the club getting back to .500 after an 8-14 start to the season goes to catcher Freddy Fermin, the backup to team captain Salvador Perez, according to Perez himself.
On Tuesday, Fermin went 3-for-4 with an RBI, managed a Royals pitching staff that made just one major mistake all night and did it all while overcoming being hit on the index finger of his throwing hand while attempting to bunt.
“He’s the best,” said Perez, who had an RBI double in the first inning while drawing the start at first base. “He prepares himself every day to compete. He was ready today, and you see what happened.”
The Royals’ offense lacked explosion — Perez’s double was the lone extra-base hit to go with seven singles — but manager Matt Quatraro said he likes what his club is doing and can win in a number of ways.
“The guys in that room care about winning,” Quatraro said. “They don’t care if we win 1-0 or 11-10. We’re going to win some high-scoring games, we know that. This is a crazy game, and at some point we’re going to break out of (the low scoring). But right now, to win games is all we care about.”
With left-hander Cole Ragans hampered by a mild left groin strain, Quatraro will send out lefty Noah Cameron, the organization’s No. 5 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, for his major league debut in a spot start.
“There’s a lot to like about him,” said Quatraro of the 25-year-old Cameron. “He’s got good stuff. He’s got good poise. We think he can get righties and lefties out. He’s physical.”
Rays manager Kevin Cash said his squad could get no momentum going Tuesday as its five-game winning streak ended, but he was impressed by cleanup hitter Junior Caminero, who went 3-for-4 with a homer and a double.
“He had a big night,” Cash said of the 21-year-old Caminero, who is batting .266. “Hit a bunch of balls hard, just missed a ball to right, smoked a ball out to center.”
After receiving a seven-inning, two-run outing from Taj Bradley on Tuesday, the Rays will start right-hander Drew Rasmussen (1-1, 2.10).
The reliever-turned-starter has been a mostly reliable performer all season for Tampa Bay, tossing five-inning starts on four occasions and taking one outing two outs into the sixth on April 18 in a 1-0 loss to the New York Yankees.
However, Rasmussen is coming off his worst start so far — five innings in Arizona in which the Diamondbacks scored four runs on five hits, including a solo homer by Tim Tawa.
In four appearances against Kansas City — two starts, two in relief — Rasmussen is 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA, totaling 10 hits, 16 strikeouts and three walks in 12 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
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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