The Houston Astros have avoided going to arbitration with All-Star infielder Isaac Paredes, announcing a new one-year deal with a club option for the 2027 season on Tuesday.

The terms of the contract weren’t announced by the team but Paredes is set to receive a $9.35 million salary, according to multiple reports. That reported salary would fall directly between the $9.95 million Paredes requested and the $8.75 the team offered in the pre-arbitration filing, per MLB.com.

Paredes, who turns 27 later this month, is coming off his second consecutive All-Star season in his first year in Houston. He hit .254 and had a .352 on-base percentage with 20 home runs, 15 doubles and 53 RBIs in 102 games, missing two months late in the season with a hamstring injury.

He’s played on four teams in six major league seasons, previously making stints with the Detroit Tigers (2020-21), Tampa Bay Rays (2022-24) and Chicago Cubs (2024) along with the Astros. He also was an All-Star for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2024 before he was traded to Chicago shortly before the trade deadline.

In 566 career games, Paredes is a .237 hitter with 92 homers, 287 RBIs, 387 strikeouts and 246 walks.

–Field Level Media

SAN JOSE, Calif. — As a rookie head coach in 2024, Mike Macdonald took his team to San Francisco for the first time with no trophies on the line but a sense the Seattle Seahawks’ season was on the brink.

“We were on a rollercoaster,” Macdonald said Tuesday at the San Jose Convention Center, recalling a critical moment during his first season as head coach.

With five losses in a string of six games, the Seahawks boarded the team plane at Sea-Tac Airport for a road game against the 49ers sporting a 4-5 record and more baggage than Macdonald could count.

“We were at an inflection point of where we want to go,” Macdonald recalled as the Seahawks are preparing to play once more at Levi’s Stadium in Super Bowl LX on Sunday night.

The Seahawks lost in overtime to the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 3 that season and split for their bye week. The buzzword bouncing around the offices of Macdonald and general manager John Schneider always came back to one idea.

“Connected,” Macdonald said of the theme he shared to inspire a defensive turnaround. “We made a pact: We’re going to be a great defense no matter what happens.”

The Seahawks ended up winning six of their last eight games in 2024 then won 14 games during the 2025 regular season. They head toward the Super Bowl with Macdonald in position to win his 27th game, playoffs included, in his first two seasons.

Since their turning point, the Seahawks are 22-5, counting two victories in the current playoffs. With changes along the way to further the shared vision of what Seattle could become, Macdonald views Super Bowl LX as an exhibit of the collective investment in the ongoing mission.

“It’s a masterclass by John and our personnel folks,” Macdonald said. “When you have a shared alignment of what kind of people you want what kind of player fits the process. They’ve bought in. All of us. And they’re doing it for the guy next to him.

“For us, we said it after the (NFC) Championship Game that we didn’t care (if they were expected to win). We don’t. I think what was important to us was that we had to become a championship team. That’s what our focus was on.”

–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media

Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk is nothing if not honest.

“We’re in trouble right now,” Tkachuk told reporters Monday after Florida’s 5-3 loss to the visiting Buffalo Sabres.

The Panthers — the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champs — have lost four straight games and trail the Boston Bruins by nine points in the battle for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

On Wednesday night, the Panthers will face the Bruins in Sunrise, Fla.

The Panthers have 27 games left in the regular season but just two before a three-week Olympic break. The sense of urgency surrounding the team is real.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice, speaking after Monday’s loss, said his players are “grinding and battling” as hard as possible. In fact, Florida outshot Buffalo 42-20 on Monday.

“If the shots were 40-20 the other way, we’d be shook,” Maurice said.

Even so, Maurice admitted Florida’s injuries are an issue, especially after center Sam Bennett left Monday’s game in the first period due to an upper-body injury.

Bennett joins several prominent injured Panthers, including forwards Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand as well as defensemen Seth Jones and Dmitry Kulikov.

“That’s a problem,” Maurice said, while also sharing Tuesday that a number of these players could return as soon as Wednesday.

Tkachuk, who scored a total of 48 goals the previous two seasons, has only played eight games this season due to injuries.

Following Monday’s game, Tkachuk said the Sabres — who are trying to break an NHL-record 14-year playoff drought — are more talented than the champs.

“From an individual standpoint, they have us by a lot,” Tkachuk said. “We have a certain style, and if we play it, we are successful. We just haven’t played it enough.

“We cannot try to out-skill teams. We have to get back to the basics and win 1-0 or 2-1. If we don’t simplify things, this year will get away from us.”

Barkov and Kulikov each skated in Tuesday’s optional practice, the first time either has skated since sustaining their injuries. However, time is starting to dwindle for the twice-reigning champs.

Meanwhile, the Bruins are coming off a 6-5 shootout loss to the host Tampa Bay Lightning in an outdoor game played before 64,617 fans on Sunday.

Boston blew a 5-1 second-period lead.

“The game was over,” Bruins forward David Pastrnak said. “We had them.”

Wednesday’s game will be Boston’s final one before its Olympic break.

So far, things have gone relatively well for the Bruins under first-year head coach Marco Sturm, a former Bruins player.

Goalie Jeremy Swayman has bounced back this season from the first losing record in his six-year NHL career. Last season, he went 22-29-7 with a 3.12 goals-against average. This season, he is 22-12-3 with a 2.92 GAA.

Joonas Korpisalo, who is 10-8-1 with a 3.12 GAA, is in his second year as Swayman’s backup.

Armed with that duo, the Bruins have not lost consecutive games this calendar year, going 12-2-2 since Dec. 31.

“They’re on a heater,” Maurice said of the Bruins.

Offensively, Pastrnak leads Boston in assists (48) and points (70). He’s gunning for his fourth straight 100-point season.

Morgan Geekie leads the Bruins in total goals (32), even-strength goals (22) and power-play goals (10). He’s also one goal away from matching his career high of 33 goals, set last season.

Charlie McAvoy leads Boston’s defensemen in assists (34) and points (38). He also has a six-game point streak, with one goal and eight assists during that span.

The key for McAvoy has been improved health as he has already played 44 games as opposed to just 50 all of last season.

–Field Level Media