Sports
Guardians Injuries Could Change Cleveland's Trade Deadline Plans
It was an exciting start to the season for the Cleveland Guardians. They jumped out to an early lead in the AL Central, quickly pulling away from who they thought would be their biggest competitors, the Detroit Tigers.
They were even 5-0 against the team they had faced in the playoffs the prior two years. Then, in the blink of an eye, things got ugly. Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter, and Angel Martinez, the team’s 1-2-3 hitters, all went down in the same game.
Any team losing the top of their order would be a problem, but it especially hurts when the 27th-ranked scoring offense loses the top of their order.
Jose Ramirez is impossible to replace. Even in a down year, he already had generated 2+ WAR, and will always be the heart and soul of the Guardians lineup, and maybe even the city of Cleveland.
Luckily, Gabriel Arias was just activated off the IL, and he will fill in at 3B for the time being. He’s not Jose, but he has been a 99 OPS+ so far this season, meaning he’s essentially been a league-average hitter. He’ll also provide some pop in a lineup that’s in desperate need of power.
DeLauter and Martinez aren’t nearly as good as Ramirez; however, finding an outfielder to replace them in the Cleveland organization will be far more difficult. Petey Halpin makes his return from AAA, but I would be shocked to see him add much offensive support. Steven Kwan, Stuart Farichild, and Daniel Schneeman fill out the rest of an outfield that is the worst offensively in the sport.
Kahlil Watson is also getting the call from Columbus after slashing .255/.333/.436 with 12 HRs in AAA. He might be able to provide support to a struggling offense, but these injuries cause far bigger concerns.
Cleveland was looking like a potential buyer at the trade deadline, but I don’t see that happening now. The Guards are 25th in baseball in total home runs, and desperately need to add some power to the middle of their order.
Rhys Hoskins and Kyle Manzardo haven’t done enough to drive in runs, especially being a part of an offense that is 8th in baseball in walks. I fear that with these injuries, Cleveland’s front office is going to be far too comfortable to sit out at the trade deadline.
Jose Ramirez won’t be sidelined for the entire season, and you’ll only get so many more elite seasons out of him in his age-33 season and beyond. The Chicago White Sox are your only real competition in the AL Central, and I think you’d be insane not to try to make this roster better.
They have a war chest of talent spread throughout their minor league system, so you can easily buy at the deadline without completely stripping down your farm system.
It’ll be an interesting few weeks in Cleveland, and if they can keep the ship afloat, maybe they still make a big trade at the coming deadline.
Sports
MLB Best Bets Today: Brewers and Mariners Lead Friday Card
Jun 14, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Seattle Mariners manager Dan Wilson (6) watches from the dugout against the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images We’ve made it through another week and scarily the halfway point of the MLB season is nearly upon us.
Let’s try to head to the beach with a couple winning MLB Picks.
Season Record 37-34-1, +0.26 Units
Brewers at Braves
Brewers F5 -0.5 (-125 Caesars)
Nobody beats The Miz!….ok you had to be there.
But yes, The Miz, Jacob Misiorowski, travels to Atlanta to take on Martin Perez and the Braves. Until yesterday’s rainout, it set up as this year’s overwhelming NL Cy Young favorite vs. the 2024 winner and future HOFer. But Sale got pushed back unfortunately.
The Miz as you probably know has looked downright insane lately, capped off with a complete game 15 K, 1 hit masterpiece vs. the Phillies last time out. He flashed 104 MPH hit and faced the minimum 27 batters with a Game Score of 107 that best I can tell is the highest ever. On the year he has a 1.34 ERA and 0.74 WHIP with a crazy 39.8% K%. Control was his big question mark going into the season, but his 6.7% BB% is actually good.
Normally the price on Miz games is so tilted it’s hard to come up with a play. But it’s at least reasonable here as he’s on the road against a good team. And Perez has pitched very well this year, sporting a 2.90 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. But the Brewers are scorching hot vs. lefties with a 134 wRC+ vs. southpaws over the past month. Meanwhile it’s not the full Braves as Ronald Acuna Jr. is back on the IL and Michael Harris II is in and out of the lineup lately. Let’s take the Miz and Brewers here.
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Red Sox at Mariners
Mariners F5 -0.5 (-105 BetMGM)
We’ve got a bit of a banged up Mariners team here hosting the reeling Red Sox. Randy Arozerena is on the IL at least until next week, while Julio Rodriguez missed yesterday’s game. On the flip side, Cal Raleigh has returned, as has JP Crawford.
It’s another top notch pitching matchup with Ranger Suarez (3.21 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 17.1% K-BB%) goes up against Bryce Miller (1.54 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 24.8% K-BB%). Ostensibly facing a lefty should pose big trouble for the Mariners as they’re not the deepest lineup in the league to begin with and it takes too good lefty platoon bats out of the lineup in Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley. In their place we get Rob Refsnyder who’s slashing a brutal .143/.214/.242 on the year and….one of Mitch Garver (.200/.327/.322) or the recently called up Connor Joe.
So take the Red Sox at plus money here, right? Well, as Lee Corso would say, “not so fast my friend!”
The Mariners still have the better pitcher, and they’re also not hitting that badly vs. lefties lastly as they have a 107 wRC+ vs. southpaws over the past month. Meanwhile Boston is in a bunch of spots where they have had just brutal results in 2026. On the F5 run line they are 9-12 with a -21.3% ROI as underdogs as well as 12-22 with a -32.6% ROI on the road and an impossibly bad 15-38 with a -45.3% ROI vs. righty starters. Let’s roll with the Mariners here.
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Sports
Tempo Gs Brittney Sykes, Kiki Rice to miss extended time
Jun 16, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Toronto Tempo guard Brittney Sykes (20) shoots the ball while Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Toronto Tempo guards Brittney Sykes and Kiki Rice will be out of the lineup for the foreseeable future with their respective injuries, the expansion team announced Friday.
Rice, a rookie, sustained a Grade 3 ankle sprain on June 3, and Sykes suffered a plantar fascia injury on Tuesday. The players will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks, per the team, with the expectation that they will return at some point this season.
Sykes, 32, was helped off the court in the third quarter of Toronto’s 131-91 loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday. She averages a team-best 20.1 points per game along with 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 15 games this season.
Rice, 22, is averaging 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 10 games this season. She played for national champion UCLA and was the sixth overall pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft.
The Tempo will play the Connecticut Sun on the road Friday night.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees Are Proving They're World Series Favorites Even Without Aaron Judge
It’s not new information that the New York Yankees are the best team in the American League. They’ve been No. 1 or No. 2 virtually all season, depending on how the Tampa Bay Rays have performed at any given time.
What is new: the Yankees are showing they’re good enough to win the World Series. They’re legit, because they’re making a big push without the best player in the league, Aaron Judge.
The Yankees have gone 9-4 without Judge since June started. Earlier this season, Judge made a dive in the outfield and aggravated a rib injury, something he’s been dealing with in some form for a much longer time. Against the Guardians, Red Sox, Blue Jays and the White Sox, they haven’t missed a beat.
Per Baseball Reference, they’ve scored 5.77 runs per game without him, opposed to averaging 5.17 runs in the first 59 games when Judge played. It’s only 13 games, but the lineup has come through with a collective slash line of .262/.332/.470, which includes 23 home runs, 49 walks and 15 stolen bases in that span.
Ben Rice is an MVP candidate. Cody Bellinger is having one of his best individual seasons. Paul Goldschmidt, at 38 years old, is slugging like a 34-year-old Goldy, when he won NL MVP with the Cardinals.
In recent years when Judge has been absent, the Yankees haven’t held their own nearly as well. Since the 2020 season, the Yanks have gone 57-64 when Judge missed a game. They had a .583 winning percentage when he played in the same span. It’s reasonable to expect the Yankees to be weaker without the best hitter of his generation, but this season’s team still might be the best in the AL even with Judge not playing.
It’s only the middle of June but, absent any more significant injuries, the Yankees are going to hold their own against a weak American League. The bigger picture looks much brighter. Judge is hoping to return in August, and if he plays like himself, with this mix of teammates, the Yankees will compete for their 28th franchise championship.
Right-hander Cam Schlittler is a leading candidate for AL Cy Young. Gerrit Cole looks renewed after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Left-hander Max Fried, while on the IL right now because of a bone bruise on his left elbow, is still Max Fried. Carlos Rodón has been strong in seven starts since getting healthy.
New York’s starting pitching, plus a lineup with a healthy Judge, can win it all.
It’s hard to imagine the Yankees failing earlier than the Fall Classic. Only three teams on the AL side have a positive run differential. Only five teams have a winning record. The White Sox looked like maybe they could put together a historical upset run, but the Yankees have toyed with them this week. The Mariners lurk, the Guardians are a pain in the butt, and the Rays have beaten up the Yankees head to head, but the Yankees list of rationalizations for not reaching the World Series would be pretty short if Judge is healthy in October.
The Yankees are showing they wouldn’t just be a token team that got lucky to get past a woeful AL field. They can play with the Dodgers, Brewers, Braves and anyone else coming out of the NL.
This is clearly their best chance to win a ring since 2009.
MLB Best Bets Today: Brewers and Mariners Lead Friday Card
Tempo Gs Brittney Sykes, Kiki Rice to miss extended time
