Sports
Spring training roundup: Ranger Suarez rocked as Twins rout Red Sox
Feb 23, 2026; Lakeland, Florida, USA; Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton (25) bats during the second inning against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images Ranger Suarez completed a rocky spring training with his new squad, allowing eight earned runs over 4 1/3 innings on Tuesday as the Minnesota Twins routed the Boston Red Sox 15-6 in Fort Myers, Fla.
Suarez, who signed a five-year, $130 million contract in January, gave up a pair of home runs among nine Minnesota hits. He walked one, fanned four and finished the Grapefruit League slate with an 11.00 ERA.
The Red Sox built an early 5-2 lead, but Brooks Lee cut the deficit to 5-4 with a long ball in the bottom of the second. Byron Buxton gave the Twins the lead for good with another two-run shot in the fifth as Minnesota scored nine runs over the fifth and sixth innings. Victor Caratini added a two-run blast, Kody Clemens hit a solo shot and James Outman hit a pair of two-run homers in the sixth and seventh.
Trevor Story went 1-for-3 with two RBIs for Boston and finished the Grapefruit League with a .404 batting average.
Braves 3, Rays 2
Mike Yastrzemski hit his sixth home run of the spring and Atlanta held off Tampa Bay in North Port, Fla.
Yastrzemski’s solo shot in the fourth inning gave the Braves a 2-1 lead. Drake Baldwin, Eli White and Jorge Mateo all went 2-for-3, with Baldwin and Mateo picking up RBI doubles. Starter Grant Holmes allowed two runs on four hits and three walks, fanning four in 5 1/3 innings. He finished spring training with a 1.02 ERA as the Braves earned a Grapefruit League-best 21 wins.
Carson Williams — is who expected to start the season at shortstop for the Rays due to Taylor Walls’ injury — and Cooper Flemming each collected RBI singles.
Rangers 4, Royals 1
Jack Leiter threw four shutout innings as Texas blanked Kansas City in Arlington, Texas.
Leiter, who will fill a spot in the back end of the Rangers’ rotation, allowed only two hits and struck out six. Joc Pederson contributed a solo homer in the fourth inning.
Seth Lugo went four innings for the Royals, permitting three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks. He fanned four batters and is slated to start Sunday in Atlanta. Nick Loftin doubled and scored for Kansas City in the eighth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brewers acquire RHP Jake Woodford from Rays
Feb 27, 2026; Port Charlotte, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jake Woodford (41) throws a pitch during the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Charlotte Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images The Milwaukee Brewers acquired right-hander Jake Woodford from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for a minor league pitcher and cash on Tuesday.
Right-hander K.C. Hunt, 25, heads to the Rays after three seasons in the Brewers’ farm system.
Woodford, 29, was a non-roster invite to Tampa Bay’s spring training. He made four appearances (two starts) this spring and allowed one run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking two batters.
Woodford spent the 2025 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, finishing 0-4 with a 6.44 ERA and three saves in 22 relief appearances.
He is 10-17 with a 5.10 ERA in 111 career games (25 starts) with the St. Louis Cardinals (2020-23), Chicago White Sox (2024), Pittsburgh Pirates (2024) and Diamondbacks.
Hunt went 7-9 with a 4.45 ERA in 121 1/3 innings with 43 walks and 122 strikeouts over 26 starts last season at Double-A Biloxi.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tua Tagovailoa embraces 'fresh start,' competition with Falcons
Dec 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson (41) sacks Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) in the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images Tua Tagovailoa said he welcomes the chance to compete for the starting quarterback job in a new NFL city and reboot his career.
The Miami Dolphins selected Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, signed him to a massive contract extension and then released him last month. He signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, where he’s expected to compete with Michael Penix Jr. for the starting job.
“Last year wasn’t the best year for me, and I’m looking for a fresh start in the sense of being able to compete, go back out and play good football,” Tagovailoa said Tuesday, speaking in public for the first time about his career change of course.
The Falcons signed him to a one-year, $1.2 million deal — the veteran minimum — while the Falcons will pay him the more than $50 million he is still owed from the four-year, $212.4 million extension he signed in July 2024.
“The best thing for me right now is making the best of this opportunity that I have with the team in terms of the relationships I make with these guys,” he said. “I get to freaking play football. This is what I dreamed of my entire life. I am going to be present. I’m going to be in the moment. I’m going to be where my feet are.”
Penix, who began the 2025 season as the Falcons’ starter, tore an ACL in Week 11 and missed the rest of the season.
“Everybody, not just those two, is coming in to compete. There are no starters right now,” general manager Ian Cunningham said on March 10, when Tagovailoa joined the Falcons. “We are excited to have Tua, but we’re excited to have all the players we were able to get (via free agency).”
Tagovailoa, 28, said he is OK with competing with Penix.
“Competition is just a thing in the NFL. I am no stranger to competition — had it in college,” Tagovailoa said. “I would say competition is just going to be there, and competition enhances the play of everyone. I don’t think the mindset changes at all. … I embrace the competition. I am excited to work alongside Mike.”
The NFL’s leading passer and a Pro Bowl selection in 2023, Tagovailoa compiled a 44-32 record in six seasons in Miami. He has completed 68.0% of his throws for 18,166 yards with 120 touchdowns and 59 interceptions.
The 2023 season is the only one of his six campaigns in which he appeared in every game. His career has been interrupted by a variety of injuries, including at least three known concussions while in the NFL.
Penix, 25, is 4-8 as a starter, completing 59.6% of his passes for 2,757 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. Atlanta selected him No. 8 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The agent for veteran quarterback Trevor Siemian confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday that Siemian, 34, also is joining the Falcons’ QB room.
Terms weren’t disclosed for Siemian, who last appeared in an NFL regular-season game in 2023 with the New York Jets. He spent most of the 2024 and 2025 campaigns on the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Falcons add RB Brian Robinson Jr. on 1-year deal
Nov 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Brian Robinson Jr. (3) warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images The Atlanta Falcons are signing running back Brian Robinson Jr. to a one-year, $2.5 million contract, NFL Network reported on Tuesday.
Robinson, who turned 27 on Sunday, rushed for 400 yards and two touchdowns on 92 carries in 17 regular-season games as a reserve in his lone season with the San Francisco 49ers in 2025. He also caught eight passes for 25 yards and returned 13 kickoffs for a 29.1-yard average with a long of 46.
He joins two-time Pro Bowl honoree and 2025 first-team All-Pro Bijan Robinson (no relation) and second-year running back Nathan Carter in Atlanta. Former Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier signed earlier this month with the Arizona Cardinals.
The 49ers had acquired Robinson from the Washington Commanders in August 2025 for a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Washington selected Robinson in the third round of the 2022 draft out of Alabama. He has rushed for 2,729 yards and 17 TDs and caught 73 passes for 612 yards and five TDs in 58 regular-season games (37 starts) for Washington (2022-24) and San Francisco.
–Field Level Media
Brewers acquire RHP Jake Woodford from Rays
Tua Tagovailoa embraces 'fresh start,' competition with Falcons
