Phillies star Bryce Harper will undergo elbow surgery to repair his damaged ulnar collateral ligament next Wednesday, president of baseball operation Dave Dombrowski announced today (Twitter link via Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Imaging hasn’t conclusively determined whether Harper will require a full Tommy John surgery (i.e. ligament replacement) or whether an internal brace procedure could suffice, so the team won’t have a timeline until the surgery is performed.
Harper was diagnosed with a UCL tear back in May but was able to continue his 2022 season as the Phillies’ primary designated hitter. Position players who sustain UCL tears are often able to continue hitting, but throwing is obviously not an option with such an injury. Even in the event of a full Tommy John surgery, it should be noted that Harper could very likely return to the field as a DH for a notable portion of the 2023 season.
Shohei Ohtani, for instance, spent only the first five weeks or so of the 2019 season on the injured list before returning as a designated hitter. His surgery was performed in early October of 2018 — some seven weeks earlier in the offseason than Harper will go under the knife. Every player’s rehab is different, of course, but a summer return would seem plausible even in the worst-case scenario for Harper. If an internal brace procedure is sufficient, Harper could conceivably return in even shorter order.
Even with the damaged UCL, Harper remained a force in the middle of the Phillies’ lineup. Harper homered in three consecutive games following the diagnosis and batted .295/.381/.510 the rest of the way after learning of the tear. A broken thumb sustained when he was hit by a pitch sidelined him for a notable portion of the summer, but neither injury could prevent Harper from mashing when healthy enough to play. His postseason teetered on historic, as Harper slashed .349/.414/.746 with six home runs and seven doubles in just 71 plate appearances. His NLCS-winning home run against the Padres will forever be etched in Phillies lore.
Harper is still only four years into the 13-year, $330MM contract he signed as a free agent prior to the 2019 season, but to this point it’s hard to call the contract anything other than a roaring success. Since putting pen to paper and making Philadelphia his long-term home, Harper has batted a combined .282/.384/.546 (not including this year’s postseason exploits), won an NL MVP Award and helped bring the Phillies back to the postseason for the first time since 2011. He’s still owed $222MM over the remaining nine years of the deal, though with the typical AAV for premium players now well north of $30MM, that $24.667MM AAV looks like a bargain for Harper.
9:52am: Seattle is sending right-handed reliever Erik Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko to the Blue Jays in the trade, Divish reports.
9:49am: TSN’s Scott Mitchell tweets that the Blue Jays will be getting bullpen help in return for Hernandez. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that known trade candidate Chris Flexen is not a part of this deal.
9:41am: The Mariners and Blue Jays are in agreement on a trade sending right fielder Teoscar Hernandez from Toronto to Seattle, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link).
Hernandez, who turned 30 a month ago, will give the Mariners a heart-of-the-order slugger who’s posted a stout .283/.333/.519 batting line with 73 home runs and 71 doubles through 1337 plate appearances over the past three seasons. Hernandez has been a Statcast darling since the time of his big league debut, regularly posting top-of-the-scale exit velocity and hard-hit rates; that was no different in 2022, when Statcast ranked him in the 94th percentile or better in hard-hit rate, average exit velocity, max exit velocity, barrel rate and expected slugging percentage.
That penchant for elite contact and plus power output from Hernandez comes at something of a cost, it should be noted. While he’s curbed his once-sky-high strikeout totals to an extent, Hernandez still fanned in 28.4% of his plate appearances last season. He got the strikeout rate all the way down to 24.9% in 2021, so there’s perhaps hope for some further gains, but as of right now that number is an outlier with regard to the rest of his career. His walk rate, meanwhile, has steadily clocked in between six and seven percent over the past few seasons — a good bit shy of league average.
Beyond the huge power potential, Hernandez possesses deceptive speed. He’s only tallied 24 steals (in 32 tries) over the past three seasons, including just six in 2022, but Hernandez’s sprint speed ranks in the 84th percentile of MLB players, per Statcast. With slightly larger bases expected to perhaps spur a bit more running in 2023, Hernandez is among the many players who could conceivably begin to take off with a bit more frequency. Hernandez is also known for having one of the game’s strongest throwing arms. Despite that speed and arm strength, however, he draws consistently below-average grades for his glovework in right field; Defensive Runs Saved and Outa Above Average have pegged him as a negative defender in each of the past four seasons. In 2022, he tallied minus-3 DRS, minus-5 OAA and a minus-3.1 Ultimate Zone Rating.
Even if his speed and arm don’t translate to plus right field defense, however, Hernandez has been a well above-average all-around player in recent years, when looking at the sum of his parts. Both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference peg him right at eight wins above replacement in his past 324 games. Those 324 games have come across three seasons, though one was the shortened 2020 campaign. Generally speaking, Hernandez has avoided major injuries. He missed three weeks this season due to an oblique strain and was sidelined in 2021 by a positive Covid test (plus a few games on the paternity list). Overall, however, he’s played in 84.3% of his team’s possible games since 2020.
Barring an extension, Hernandez will be a one-year rental for the Mariners — and a relatively pricey one, at that. Hernandez will reach six years of service time in 2023 and become a free agent next winter. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a sizable $14.1MM salary for him this season.
Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said at last week’s GM Meetings that he sought at least one outfield upgrade this winter, if not two. Hernandez should slot into right field alongside center fielder Julio Rodriguez, but his presence in Seattle creates some additional questions. The club opted not to make a qualifying offer to Mitch Haniger, for instance, and while Hernandez’s acquisition doesn’t squarely rule out Haniger returning to rotate through the outfield corners, today’s trade inherently makes a reunion feel less likely.
The Mariners will have to determine whether they’re comfortable with a combination of former top prospects Jarred Kelenic, Kyle Lewis and Taylor Trammell in left field. Jesse Winker is another left field/DH option, though as of yesterday, the Mariners were discussing trade packages involving Winker. It’s easy enough to envision that group, with some help from utilitymen Dylan Moore and Sam Haggerty, holding down the fort in the corners and at DH, but further additions shouldn’t be ruled out.
The Mariners, after all, are squarely in win-now mode. And even with Hernandez aboard, they have ample payroll capacity; acquiring Hernandez is a roughly $12.7MM net add to the payroll, as Swanson had been projected by Swartz to be paid $1.4MM. They’re projected for a $143.5MM payroll following the swap, and that’s a ways shy of the $162MM peak they trotted out in 2018. A return to the playoffs has likely boosted revenue a bit, and MLB has agreed to various lucrative streaming deals that afford each team considerable sums of money in the five years since that previously established record payroll.
Turning to the Blue Jays’ side of the deal, they’ll simultaneously add a much-needed power arm to the bullpen and shed that aforementioned (and approximate) $12.7MM in payroll. They’re still projected for what would be a franchise-record Opening Day payroll in the $176MM range, but the trade gives them some more flexibility while adding a crucial arm to the relief mix. Swanson, originally acquired by the Mariners in the trade that sent James Paxton to the Yankees, struggled as a starter but has broken out as an absolute powerhouse in the Seattle bullpen.
The 3.31 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate Swanson logged in 35 1/3 innings during the 2021 season were a step in that direction, but it wasn’t until this past season that he became a dominant late-inning force. Swanson’s 2022 campaign resulted in 53 2/3 innings of 1.68 ERA ball with a massive 34% strikeout rate against just a 4.9% walk rate. In all, since establishing himself in 2021, Swanson owns a 2.33 ERA in 89 innings of relief — a mark that is largely supported by fielding-independent metrics (2.59 FIP, 2.87 SIERA).
Swanson is an extreme fly-ball pitcher, so some may have concern about his transition from a pitcher-friendly setting at T-Mobile Park to the homer-happy confines of Toronto’s Rogers Centre, but the fact is that very few of the fly-balls he yields are hit with authority. Among the 385 pitchers with at least 80 innings over the past two seasons, Swanson has induced infield pop-ups at the sixth-best rate in MLB.
Swanson was also a batted-ball deity on the mound in 2022, ranking near the top of the league in terms of average exit velocity (98th percentile), hard-hit rate (96th), “expected” ERA and wOBA (97th), “expected” slugging percentage (94th), overall strikeout rate (96th) and opponents’ chase rate on pitches off the plate (93rd). He may not be a household name, but for the 2022 season at least, Swanson can lay claim to legitimately being one of MLB’s most dominant relievers.
Unlike Hernandez, who’ll be a free agent next winter, Swanson is a relatively long-term piece for the Blue Jays. With three-plus years of Major League service time under his belt, he’s controllable through the 2025 season. And, because his breakout was of the “late blooming” variety, he didn’t build up the type of long track record that would reward him handsomely in his first trip through the arbitration process. The Jays will almost certainly pay Swanson less over over the next three seasons than they’d have paid Hernandez in 2023 alone.
It’s the same timeline to free agent shared by Toronto closer Jordan Romano, who’s also controlled through 2023. Swanson figures to serve as the primary setup option to Romano, though he’ll be joined by veterans Yimi Garcia, Anthony Bass, Adam Cimber and Tim Mayza in what already looks like a deeper and more formidable relief corps.
The scores are in from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and Sprint – where George Russell took his maiden win, and Mercedes’ first victory of the season – and there are a couple of big names missing from the top 10…
How it works
Our five-judge panel assess each driver after every Grand Prix and score them out of 10 according to their performance across the weekend – taking machinery out of the equation
Our experts’ scores are then averaged out and the mean of those scores are used to produce a Power Rankings leaderboard, which has been expanded below
READ MORE: 5 Winners and 5 Losers from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
George Russell had a momentous weekend in Sao Paulo. He qualified third and then won the Saturday Sprint after a brief tussle with Max Verstappen, who defended admirably but couldn’t make those medium tyres work as well in the 100km dash. On Sunday, Russell started from P1 on the grid, led all but five laps and set the fastest lap on his way to a maiden Grand Prix victory, and the team’s first of 2022. The judges gave him a perfect score.
READ MORE: Why Red Bull had no answer for Mercedes and Ferrari in the Sao Paulo GP
Lewis Hamilton qualified eighth on Friday as wet-dry-wet conditions caught out much of the field, but the seven-time champion fared much better in the Sprint where he finished third, behind penalised driver Carlos Sainz, to ensure a front-row lock-out for Mercedes on Sunday. In the Grand Prix, Hamilton led five laps and shrugged off a collision with Verstappen to back up his team mate in a sensational one-two.
READ MORE: ‘It wasn’t clear we could make it to the end’ – ‘Super proud’ Wolff on how close Russell came to losing Sao Paulo win
Sainz wasn’t the happiest driver coming into the weekend as he had a five-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix, which meant that his P5 in qualifying and P2 in the Sprint would turn into P7 on Sunday’s grid. But the Spaniard made it to P3 within the first 10 laps in a blistering show of pace, and, while he had to fight to hold on to his podium place – conceding to the Mercedes but staying ahead of his team mate Charles Leclerc plus the Red Bulls – Sainz felt like he’d finally had the smooth weekend he was hoping for.
READ MORE: Sainz pleased with ‘great fightback’ to podium as Leclerc explains team orders request in Brazil
If Sainz was miffed, Fernando Alonso was similarly unhappy going into the Grand Prix. A collision with team mate Esteban Ocon led to Alonso receiving a five-second penalty in the Sprint – for which he started seventh – but from 17th he made gradual progress into the top 10 on Sunday. From there, it was clear that the two-time champion’s pace was sufficient for far more than a few points and he was allowed past Ocon late in the race to beat the Red Bulls to P5 at the flag.
READ MORE: Alonso enjoys ‘perfect Sunday’ in Sao Paulo after storming from P17 to P5
Valtteri Bottas’s performance didn’t go unoticed by our judges, despite the drama that unfolded around the Alfa Romeo driver. Bottas qualified a disappointing 18th and ended up 14th in the Sprint, but he had plenty more in the tank. Running as high as fifth in the Grand Prix itself, the Finn couldn’t quite hang on to the Alpines and Red Bulls late in the race but he finished a solid ninth on a day where points seemed a long shot.
READ MORE: What the teams said – Race day in Sao Paulo
Kevin Magnussen created headlines when he blazed to his first ever pole position in the dramatic Friday qualifying session, and that went some way to putting him in the top 10 in our Power Rankings. The Danish driver couldn’t hang onto the lead but settled for eighth, and a point, in the Sprint. Sunday was far less fortunate for the Haas driver as he was punted into a spin and out of the race on Lap 1.
READ MORE: ‘Lap 1 incidents are brutal’ – Magnussen and Ricciardo reflect on race-ending collision in Sao Paulo
Leclerc qualified 10th in the mixed-up order on Friday but made it to sixth in a tough Sprint, with the Monegasque trying to avoid needless risk. From fifth on the grid, he fell down to 18th after a collision with Lando Norris nearly sent him out of the race but he soldiered on and almost got the better of team mate Sainz at the final Safety Car restart. P4 put Leclerc level with Perez in the standings.
READ MORE: ‘I’m not here to let everyone past’ – Norris defends collision with Leclerc after ‘disappointing’ DNF in Sao Paulo
Thirteenth was Sebastian Vettel’s place in qualifying and he just missed out on a point in the Sprint after placing P9 on Saturday – a result that showed he had the race pace to fight for a top-10 spot on Sunday. The four-time champion did indeed give his all, going as high as third on a different strategy to most of the runners, and he was up to seventh before the late Safety Car dashed his hopes of points in the Grand Prix, as he fell back to 11th on medium tyres.
BEYOND THE GRID: Vettel names ‘biggest natural talent’ he’s faced in F1 as he prepares for final race
Ocon qualified a stellar sixth on Friday and didn’t take the blame for the Alonso collision in the Sprint, which left his team mate holding a five-second penalty. The Frenchman started the race in 16th, however, and worked his way into the top 10 – but the late-race restart left him lagging and he ended up eighth by the chequered flag.
FACTS AND STATS: Russell and Hamilton take first British 1-2 since 2010
Despite suffering from a bout of food poisoning, Norris qualified a brilliant fourth on Friday, then fell to seventh in the Sprint as he admitted his objective was to pass Magnussen. Mission accomplished, but from sixth in the Grand Prix he tangled with Leclerc early on and took a five-second penalty for that collision. The Briton climbed as high as eighth after that but his progress was curtailed by a loss of power which ended his race on Lap 52.
Missing out
Pierre Gasly was the driver to miss out on the top 10 in our Power Rankings as the AlphaTauri driver qualified 12th, finished 10th in the Sprint and then – with a five-second penalty for pit lane speeding – ended up 14th on Sunday.
As the dust settles at Old Trafford following the first shockwaves of Cristiano Ronaldo’s highly-critical interview, club executives have been busy examining their options for the next step in resolving an increasingly toxic situation.
On the day the first installment of the Talk TV interview with presenter Piers Morgan is broadcast, Manchester United’s owners the Glazer family, chief executive Richard Arnold and director of football John Murtough, along with manager Erik ten Hag, will be in dialogue with their lawyers as they wait to see the full extent of the player’s comments over the next 24 hours.
So far, in extracts also published by the Sun newspaper and video clips watched over 11 million times on social media, Ronaldo has accused his employers of betrayal and disrespect, taking swipes at Ten Hag and the club’s hierarchy. Here’s what we know so far.
But what options are available to the club? How might they go about making a constructive step forward in the wake of the embarrassing polemic from the 37-year-old superstar?
What is the biggest consideration for United based on what they know?
The most important thing for United is to establish to what extent Ronaldo is in breach of his contract through his comments and what they are then able to do as a result.
All top-flight players sign a Premier League employment contract with their clubs.
Under that agreement, they are obliged to “comply with and act in accordance with all lawful instructions of any authorised official of the club” and are not allowed to “write or say anything which is likely to bring the club… into disrepute… or cause damage to the club”.
Jamie Singer, a partner at sports law specialists Onside Law, feels Ronaldo may already be in breach of his standard contract.
“Under the contract, there’s a specific provision that talks about not saying anything which brings the club into disrepute or damages the club’s reputation,” he says. “The content of the interview immediately puts him in breach.
“The standard terms also cover, wherever possible, informing the club about interviews you’re doing in advance. He could have informed the club so I would think that was probably another breach.”
It is understood United were made aware of the interview by Ronaldo’s camp on Sunday, shortly before Morgan’s first tweet to publicise it, so it could be open to interpretation whether that qualifies as reasonable notice in advance.
“As I understand it, the standard contract doesn’t prohibit players from doing interviews,” adds Singer. “But it obliges them to try and help the club by telling them they’re doing it in advance and making sure they’re joined up.”
In this case, Ronaldo is no different from any of his team-mates, or players at the Premier League’s 19 other clubs.
“It’s a standard Premier League contract that every Manchester United player will have signed and every club is obliged to use,” says Singer. “He (Ronaldo) will have signed up to those provisions.
“That includes implied terms about confidence, loyalty and obeying reasonable instructions.
“There can be little doubt that what he’s done puts him in breach of the standard contract. From what I’ve seen, accusing the club of betrayal, not honouring commitments, it’s pretty easy to say he’s brought the club into disrepute and damaged the interests of the club.”
What might happen if United decide Ronaldo has breached his contract?
Ultimately, the club could terminate the Portuguese’s deal.
Having initially re-joined United in August 2021 on a two-year contract with an option for an extra year, his current terms would be due to expire in August 2023 — assuming that extra year was not agreed.
However, if United’s hierarchy feel the player remaining at the club is impossible and want to try and get rid of him even in the face of appeals or further damaging publicity, there is a process they can follow.
The most important thing for United is to establish to what extent Ronaldo is in breach of his contract through his comments (Photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
“If he’s in breach of contract, it’s one thing,” adds Singer. “But if it’s such a fundamental breach of contract that can bring termination, that’s another level.
“You can’t prejudge from a few clips and out-of-context snippets so it makes sense for United and their legal team to know exactly what is said and then take a judgement call.”
United may be best advised to follow the set process as they would with any potential breach of contract, and consider all their options.
“There’s a disciplinary process and if someone is in breach of contract by doing something they shouldn’t have done, the club has the scope to fine the player and impose a penalty,” explains Singer.
One high-profile precedent is former United forward Romelu Lukaku.
The striker gave an explosive interview to Sky Italia last season, lambasting Chelsea’s behaviour when failing to play regularly. Thomas Tuchel, then Chelsea head coach, said Lukaku would face “some discipline action” for the interview but, unlike Ronaldo, this was a player signed for £90million just a few months earlier.
Lukaku, who also apologised for his interview, is now on a season-long loan back at Inter Milan, the club he had left for Chelsea.
“If it’s serious or the player disagrees, you go into the disciplinary procedure where the player has the opportunity to defend themselves,” says Singer. “The club will say what it is they think he’s done wrong, he can argue he doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong and then it goes up to the board of the club to decide what the penalty should be or if there’s a penalty at all.
“In this situation, it would be an internal hearing and potentially get to a situation where he’s committed gross misconduct and they can terminate the contract.
“Or if they believe there’s so much here, they could shortcut it and say they don’t need a disciplinary process. They might argue it’s so clear and obvious it’s gross misconduct that they’d go straight for termination with a 14-day notice.”
Are there any examples of players having their contracts terminated?
In August 2011, Hull City terminated the contract of record signing Jimmy Bullard following an incident on a pre-season trip to Slovenia.
Bullard had a lucrative deal until the end of the 2012-13 season and it led to a legal dispute between him and the club. The former midfielder was eventually reported to have accepted a settlement and both parties signed confidentiality agreements.
In 2014, Nicolas Anelka was sacked by West Bromwich Albion for gross misconduct. Anelka — who was given a five-match ban and an £80,000 fine by the Football Association for the quenelle gesture he made at West Ham — had announced via Twitter that he was terminating his playing contract, which had three and half months to run.
Anelka was sacked by West Brom in 2014 for gross misconduct (Photo: John Walton – PA Images via Getty Images)
The club had suspended the Frenchman on full pay following the FA’s verdict and were planning to complete their own investigation. West Brom had initially said his Twitter statement was “highly unprofessional”.
Three hours later, the club revealed they had written to Anelka giving him 14 days notice of termination as required under his contract. They said Anelka had failed to apologise for “the impact and consequences of his (quenelle)gesture” or accept a substantial fine, which would have resulted in his suspension being lifted.
Singer believes United would be best advised to go through the full process, however angry they might feel about the interview.
“The safer route is to go through the process of a disciplinary hearing, we’ll set it out and you can defend yourself,” he says. “Then we decide on the sanction.
“If they do find him guilty of gross misconduct, which is very rare, the player can still appeal that to the Premier League. What makes it unusual is that typically the value of a player’s registration is so significant. It’s unusual that a club would terminate the contract of a player’s registration because of the value of his registration.
“But here they’re paying him however many hundreds of thousands a week and they’ll be unable to sell him for a big transfer fee. That does change the dynamic quite a lot.
“To save themselves £400,000 a week, it might be worth going down that route. There’s enough incendiary stuff in what we’ve seen that probably does justify gross misconduct.
“They’d probably want to go through a disciplinary process to protect themselves against any claims it hadn’t been a due and fair process. Knowing that Ronaldo would probably challenge them, they’ve got another layer of protection then.”
So what might the eventual outcome be?
Despite the possibility of tearing up his contract, United may opt to do things amicably and on the quiet.
Along with criticising the facilities at United’s training ground and a string of other damaging observations about its culture, Ronaldo has accused the club of showing a lack of “empathy” when his young daughter was hospitalised in July.
Simon Leaf, head of sport at law firm Mishcon de Reya, believes that settling the matter privately could be the best way for the club to limit any more embarrassment.
“The club are caught between a rock and a hard place,” he says. “(A) termination right is subject to Ronaldo’s right to appeal — especially as he seems to be suggesting that United are in breach of its own duties to take reasonable steps to protect the health and safety of its employees, which may extend to allowing Ronaldo time off in such difficult circumstances.
“There is no easy answer to this particular legal wrangle, and, from experience, one suspects, that given the sums involved in terms of wages and a potential transfer fee that may be forgone, both Ronaldo and the club will now try to resolve the issues as amicably as possible in private with a view to both parties saving face.”
It’s Week 11 and Thanksgiving is next week. Additionally, most trade deadlines coincide with Thanksgiving, so we’ll focus on playoff schedules for buys and sells. Don’t forget, the 101 piece helping you with weather, trade decisions and lineups, plus, this week’s fun ranks (and reader suggestion) — Best TV and Movie Bullies.
*** Oh! And, we might have found a solution to the rankings widget issue by using Fantasy Nation (via Football Diehards). All three scorings work and are editable by me (unlike before), and the widget will let you scroll on Android (browser) without using two fingers! YAY! ***
#CheckTheLink-age Waivers | True SOS (APA — Wednesday update) Fantasy Football 101 (starts, sits, trading, more) All in Football (video pod)
2022 Week 11 Fantasy Football Sleepers
🚨 HEADS UP 🚨 These are sleepers. They will not mimic my rankings 100%. This is chasing upside and often carries more risk.
QUARTERBACK
POSSIBLY START: Daniel Jones, NYG — Jones is back again after his QB13 finish, as this week is an even better matchup. Jones didn’t run as much as he did in Weeks 3, 4 and 7, but he threw two touchdowns for just the third time. The Lions are one of the best matchups you can find, with five quarterbacks scoring 24.7+ and five quarterbacks throwing two or more touchdowns. The Lions have also allowed four games of 40+ rushing yards to QBs, including Justin Fields’ bananas Week 10.
RUNNING BACK
POSSIBLY START: Brian Robinson, WSH — While Antonio Gibson seems reborn in this timeshare role, don’t overlook Robinson for a potential repeat of Week 10. The Eagles matchup wasn’t favorable, yet Robinson fought his way into the end zone. He won’t have to fight much this week, as the Texans allow the most FPPG to running backs with a league-high 1,407 rushing yards (next closest is 1,228) and 13 rushing touchdowns.
HAIL MARY START: Cordarrelle Patterson and Tyler Allgeier, ATL — With a combined 38 rushing yards in Week 10 — 23 total yards given Allgeier’s -17 yards receiving — it might be hard to start either or both. Fortunately, the Bears have struggled to keep running backs out of the end zone with 12 rushing touchdowns allowed, including three games with multiple rushing scores.
WIDE RECEIVER
POSSIBLY START: Courtland Sutton, DEN — Even if Jerry Jeudy can play this week, Sutton is worth a start given the thinness of receivers due to byes and injuries. This Russell Wilson-led offense has been mostly hard to look at, but the Raiders can be a cure for what ails. Sutton and Jeudy both scored in Week 4 against them, and the Raiders have allowed 10 double-digit wideout scores and eight touchdowns this year, including letting Matt Ryan have a nice showing in his return.
POSSIBLY START: Josh Palmer, LAC — The Chiefs have allowed a double-digit score to a wideout in every game outside of the Malik Willis Titans game, with four games of teammates going over 10 fantasy points. Palmer is back in play, as DeAndre Carter was here last week, but Carter’s upside depends on if Keenan Allen returns. Palmer is startable either way.
HAIL MARY START: D.J. Moore, CAR — As mentioned in this week’s Waiver Worries, Moore is possibly toast with Baker Mayfield back, but that’s why he’s a Hail Mary play now. The Ravens have played better of late, but every receiver with 9+ targets against the Ravens has put up at least 8.5 fantasy points, with an average of 11.8 targets, 114 yards and four total touchdowns (and 18.0 FPPG). Of course, this relies on Mayfield not looking like a dunce.
TIGHT END
HAIL MARY START: Greg Dulcich, DEN — Back to the Broncos, and I know, putting your faith in more than one/the team is a lot to ask. The Raiders haven’t given up a ton to tight ends, but Gerald Everett, Zach Ertz and Travis Kelce all had nice games… especially Kelce (30.0 points). The rest of the opposing tight ends are mediocre, yet Geoff Swaim, Jordan Akins, Taysom Hill and Kylen Granson all had 7.7+ points. Dulcich was disappointing last week, but he has 21 targets in his four games, 17 of those targets for 12-182-1 and 30.2 points in his first three games.
Fun with Rankings! Best Bullies in Movies and TV
Thanks to @_jds_jds for this idea. I joked that Rachaad White took Qandree Diggs’ lunch money in Germany, and he responded by asking for the top TV/movie bullies of all time. Of course, seeing bullies get their comeuppance is extremely gratifying, but let’s pound these out (pun intended).
Biff Tannen, Back to the Future — When you think “bully,” there is likely no character who comes to mind quicker than Biff.
Vegeta, Dragon Ball Z — Before redeeming himself by sacrificing his life (spoilers) against Majin Buu, Vegeta was the original bully of the Dragon Ball Z characters, who still bullied them even while teaming up with them occasionally and seemingly turning the corner in the Cell saga before letting his jealousy get the best of him again. Arguably the best DBZ (and Super) character.
Johnny Lawrence, Karate Kid — Honestly, you can argue John Kreese is the true bully mastermind — especially if you’ve seen Cobra Kai — but Lawrence was the classic 80s movie bully, with a posse and all.
Deebo, Friday — The most imposing bully of all time? Snatching chains and bikes.
Nelson Muntz, Simpsons — Likable and hateable at the same time.
Joffrey Baratheon, Game of Thrones — Is there another bully with more impact in a shorter rein and, of course, a more celebrated death?
Eric Cartman, South Park — Few carry the balance of bully, friend, funny and obnoxious more than Cartman does.
Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter — Even his face screams bully.
Roger Klotz, Doug — Roger is now 45 by the way. Held back in school multiple times, he’s older than Doug and his friends and gets the joy of being the town bully. The guy would just pop in on Doug to tell him he sucks or torture him.
Flash Thompson, Spider-Man things — Hated and bullied Peter Parker incessantly, but like some of the list, he’s redeemed later by becoming friends with Peter after finding out he is Spider-Man and then Agent Venom.
Fred O’Bannion, Dazed and Confused — That paddle. That is all.
Regina George, Mean Girls — Such a terrible character that you don’t even feel bad for her after the revenge.
White Goodman, DodgeBall — So many GIFs still used (touche, go ahead make your jokes Mr. Jokey, and more, including…)
Ace Merrill, Stand by Me — Tried to kill a kid. I mean…
Angelica Pickles, Rugrats — She went on most adventures, but Angelica was also an obnoxious bully of the other Rugrats, partly being the oldest, partly worse because of her voice.
Mr. Burns, Simpsons — Rich tormentor of power plant employees and sometimes the entire city of Springfield.
Pete, Goofy things — Later became Goofy’s friend in A Goofy Movie, but was Goofy’s terrorizer and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in the Disney’s Christmas Carol.
Candace Flynn, Phineas and Ferb — I never watched the show, but the fiancé wanted her to make the Top 20.
Bluto, Popeye — Better left in those past times.
O’Doyles, Billy Madison — Generations of bullies all taken out in one random car accident.
BUYS AND SELLS
With the trade deadline close, I’m going to list some best and worst SOS for the playoffs (only)
Buys
Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, SF — 4th: SEA, WSH, LV
Lamar Jackson, QB, BAL — 6th: CLE, ATL, PIT
Derrick Henry, RB, TEN — 1st: LAC, HOU, DAL
Alvin Kamara, RB, NO — 2nd: ATL, CLE, PHI
Leonard Fournette, RB, TB — 3rd: CIN, ARI, CAR
George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, WR, PIT — 2nd: CAR, LV, BAL
Chris Olave (and maybe others), WR, NO — 5th
Greg Dulcich, TE, DEN — 3rd: ARI, LAR, KC
Pat Freiermuth, TE, PIT — 4th
Sells
Tua Tagovailoa, QB, MIA — 30th: BUF, GB, NE
Joe Burrow, QB, CIN — 27th: TB, NE, BUF
Josh Jacobs, RB, LV — 32nd: NE, PIT, SF
Joe Mixon, RB, CIN — 30th
Allen Robinson, WR, LAR — 32nd: GB, DEN, LAC
Christian Kirk, WR, JAX — 28th: DAL, NYJ, HOU
David Njoku, TE, CLE — 30th: BAL, NO, WSH
Dallas Goedert, TE, PHI — 28th: CHI, DAL, NO
Week 11 Fantasy Football Projections
🚨 HEADS UP 🚨 These can differ from my rankings, and my ranks are the order I’d start players outside of added context, such as, “Need highest upside, even if risky.” Also, based on 4-point TDs for QB, 6-point rest, and Half-PPR
Download Link Added Thursday
***These are NOT updated Sunday morning, FYI***
Week 11 Fantasy Football Rankings
🚨 HEADS UP 🚨
We found a solution to the rankings widget issue by using Fantasy Nation (via Football Diehards). All three scorings work and are editable by me (unlike before), and the widget will let you scroll on Android (browser) without using two fingers! YAY!
Updated regularly, so check all the way up to lineups locking.
NEW YORK — The Mets left one of their top defensive prospects exposed to the Rule 5 Draft on Tuesday, as they did not make any 40-man roster adds prior to the deadline.
The team chose not to protect outfielder Jake Mangum, who is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time. Mangum, the club’s fourth-round selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, was limited to 72 games this season due to a stress reaction in his spine. He is considered old for a prospect at 26 years old and does not rank among MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Mets prospects. But he is widely considered one of the organization’s best defensive players at any position, which could entice rival teams.
The Rule 5 Draft is scheduled for Dec. 7 at the Winter Meetings in San Diego. Players who signed their first professional contract at age 18 or younger must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. Players signed at 19 or older must be protected within four seasons. Clubs pay $100,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn’t stay on the 25-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000.
Although Consuegra — ranked as the Mets’ No. 23 prospect by MLB Pipeline — is higher rated than Mangum, he is 22 years old with no experience above Class A ball, which makes him less likely to be drafted. Mangum, by contrast, is a former Mississippi State star who has played in 144 games in the upper Minors. Should he go unclaimed in the Rule 5 Draft, Mangum would have a strong chance to make New York’s Opening Day roster as a reserve outfielder. But another team could take a chance on Mangum, a dynamic center fielder who holds MSU’s career hits record.
The Mets have eight openings on their 40-man roster, but they will need to use several of those on pitchers to fill out their staff.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur was surprisingly candid in his explanation of the decision to cut running back Kylin Hill this week, indicating that Hill didn’t conduct himself the way the Packers expect of their players.
“Being a member of the Green Bay Packers, it’s a privilege,” LaFleur said. “There are standards and expectations that are placed on every member of this team that we expect guys to live up to. I appreciate what Kylin’s been through, I know it hasn’t been easy coming back from that knee injury that he suffered a year ago, that was pretty devastating. He’s a guy we had high expectations for, and realize he’s in a loaded room, but regardless of your role big or small, we expect guys to come to work and be supportive and own that role to the best of your ability. If you don’t do that, that’s what happened.”
Asked if the decision to cut Hill was less about what kind of football player he is than about other things away from the field, LaFleur answered, “Yeah, I would say so.”
Reading between the lines, LaFleur seemed to be suggesting that Hill — who has played just one offensive snap this season — was unhappy with his playing time behind Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon and didn’t handle his unhappiness appropriately. Now Hill will hope he can catch on with another team, one that will give him the playing time the Packers haven’t.
NEW YORK — Anthony Rizzo is keeping his Yankees pinstripes for a while longer, agreeing Tuesday to a two-year contract with a club option for the 2025 season, the club announced. The deal is worth at least $40 million, sources told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, but the team did not disclose the terms.
Rizzo’s new pact will pay him $34 million over the next two seasons, with a $17 million club option or $6 million buyout for 2025, per sources.
Rizzo, who turned 33 in August, batted .224/.338/.480 in 130 games this season for the Yankees, his first full campaign in New York after being acquired from the Cubs ahead of the 2021 Trade Deadline.
A natural fit for Yankee Stadium’s inviting right-field porch, Rizzo tied his career high with 32 home runs, driving in 75 runs while providing needed left-handed balance to the lineup and a reliable glove at first base.
“He’s been everything we could have hoped for,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said recently. “He’s been an amazing person in our clubhouse, an amazing teammate, amazing leader, very productive on the field. I think [he’s] very much cut out to play for the Yankees. He handles all that goes with playing here as one of the premium players and leaders so well.”
Rizzo’s park-adjusted OPS+ of 131 put him in the top 30 among qualified hitters in 2022 and made him the second-most productive bat in a Yankees offense that struggled to find consistency behind Aaron Judge. Rizzo and Judge have developed a close friendship during their time together.
The Astros also reportedly had interest in Rizzo, a career .265 hitter over 12 big league seasons who won the World Series with the Cubs in 2016. A three-time All-Star while in Chicago, he has posted an above-average OPS+ (over 100) in 11 straight seasons and topped the 20-homer mark in each of his past nine full seasons (setting aside the shortened 2020 campaign).
Rizzo will enter 2023 with a career line of .265/.366/.481, needing 17 more homers to reach the 300 mark. On the defensive side, Rizzo won four NL Gold Glove Awards at first base from 2016 to ’20 but has posted -5 outs above average since joining the Yankees.
Speaking on Tuesday at the MLB owners’ meetings in New York, Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner indicated that Judge’s free agency would not necessarily preclude the club from moving on a free agent like Rizzo.
“Am I going to make moves before we’re able to, in my opinion, sign Aaron?” Steinbrenner said. “Yeah, that’s not going to stop me from signing other people. We’ve got to make the moves. It’s all about who’s going to come off the board. Some guys are going to come off the board sooner than others, and if it’s somebody we feel we need, then I’ve got to make the decision to continue to improve the club and not just hold back until we figure out Aaron.”
While Rizzo is back in the fold as the starting first baseman, the rest of the Yankees’ infield could change before Opening Day. Josh Donaldson is expected to return as the third baseman, with Steinbrenner lauding the veteran’s defense as well as a work ethic that he said is “second to none.”
Steinbrenner voiced concerns about DJ LeMahieu’s health coming off a lingering toe injury on his right foot that sapped his productivity and availability in the second half of the season.
“It’s not a usual injury,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s not a normal one we see on every team every year. I don’t know enough about it. We have not been told surgery is out. The question is, how long after surgery? We’re not there.”
“As far as the young kids — [Oswaldo] Cabrera included, who was a great surprise when he came up — we’re going to go with young kids,” Steinbrenner said. “Some of the veteran players, they’d like to see that, because I’ve talked to them.”
MLB.com’s Betelhem Ashame and Andrew Simon contributed to this story
The first game of the 2022-23 college basketball season played between top-10 teams delivered in a captivating way Tuesday night as No. 6 Kansas outlasted No. 7 Duke 69-64 during the Champions Classic in Indianapolis. The Jayhawks were without coach Bill Self, who was serving the third game of a self-imposed four-game suspension in response to alleged NCAA violations.
But even without Self and some key players from last season’s national title team, the Jayhawks looked like a national contender once again. Kansas freshman Gradey Dick came alive in crunch time for three clutch buckets in the final two and a half minutes, two of which gave the Jayhawks the lead.
His diving, twisting lay-up with 1:04 remaining made it a 65-62 lead for the Jayhawks, who rallied from a six-point deficit late in the second half. Dick had been scoreless for the half until his late finishing flurry but finished with 14 points for the game.
For most of the second half, the Jayhawks essentially force-fed junior wing Jalen Wilson, who is the leading returning scorer after the losses of stars such as Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun to the NBA Draft. Wilson finished with a game-high 25 points and helped the Jayhawks weather a storm in the second half.
Duke trailed by 11 points early but settled in as the game progressed with freshman forward Kyle Filipowski standing out for his aggression in the second half. Filipowski led the Blue Devils with 17 points and 14 rebounds but was just 6 of 18 from the floor. Jeremy Roach added 16 points for Duke.
Both teams plagued by poor shooting
Duke had hit a respectable 34% of its 3-point attempts through two games entering Tuesday, but the Blue Devils went cold from beyond the arc against Kansas. Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor were each 1 for 5 from deep, and Filipowski was 1 of 6 while Jaylen Blakes and Jacob Grandison combined to go 0 of 5.
Kansas wasn’t much better as the Jayhawks hit only 3 of 19 attempts from 3-point range, but KU did have more success attacking the rim. Overall, Kansas shot 46.3% from the floor compared to 35.8% for Duke. Undersized big man KJ Adams Jr. quietly made 4 of 4 attempts from the field without being a focal point of KU’s offense. His task against Duke’s much taller bigs was unenviable, but he handled it well enough to allow the Jayhawks to capitalize in other ways.
Kansas shows off its wings
How KU capitalized was through the aggression of its versatile corps of wings. Wilson made into the lane against anyone who guarded him and Dick managed to get loose in key moments. Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar also provided a big lift in the first half, particularly early when he often found himself guarded by Filipowski, a 7-footer. McCullar scored eight of his 12 points in the opening half. He had six early as the Jayhawks opened up a 17-6 lead less than seven minutes in.
The size and versatility of the Wilson-Dick-McCullar trio stood out for Kansas. Though just three games into his career, Dick looks capable of playing a similar type of role to the role Christian Braun played for the Jayhawks on their way to a national title last season. Though replacing Ochai Agbaji is going to be a bit more difficult, it’s clear KU has the perimeter weapons necessary to be a matchup nightmare once again.
Key players missing in action
Neither team had its full roster available. One of Duke’s five-star freshmen, versatile wing Dariq Whitehead, has yet to make his debut while recovering from offseason foot surgery. The 6-6 wing would have given Duke another versatile defender to deploy against Wilson and Dick.
Kansas was without two players as well, though. Freshman guard MJ Rice (illness) and sophomore Zach Clemence (injury) were unavailable. Rice is a McDonald’s All-American who played a major role off the bench last week, and Clemence is a sophomore fighting for minutes in the front court.
With the top five teams in last week’s College Football Playoff Rankings all holding serve after emerging victorious last week, the third edition of the CFP top 25 released Tuesday night was largely uneventful. Reigning national champion Georgia held onto the No. 1 spot with fellow undefeateds Ohio State, Michigan and TCU rounding out what would be the four-team field should the playoff be decided today.
Tennessee, with its lone blemish coming to Georgia two weeks ago, remains the first team out at No. 5. The Volunteers will have a chance to make the playoff given the strength of their victories to this point along with having the best loss in the country. Reminder: All but one team ranked No. 1 in a season’s initial CFP Rankings ultimately reached the playoff (Mississippi State, 2014).
A debut in the CFP for the Vols is hardly a sure thing, however, as they will not have an opportunity to earn extra credit in the eyes of the CFP Selection Committee by winning a conference championship game. That possibility still exists for No. 6 LSU, which is seeking to become the first two-loss team to earn a CFP bid in the event’s history. No. 7 USC aims to become the first Pac-12 team to make the playoff since 2016-17, while No. 9 Clemson looks to get through the rest of the season unscathed; that will require it getting by fellow one-loss ACC brethren No. 13 North Carolina, which itself has a puncher’s chance at making the CFP.
Perhaps most notable was a change in ranking order for the top Group of Five programs aiming for a New Year’s Six berth. With a 38-31 head-to-head road victory over the weekend, UCF (now No. 20) jumped Tulane (now No. 21) to take pole position for that opportunity.
The biggest riser in the rankings was Washington, which jumped eight spots to No. 17 after taking down Oregon, which fell six spots down to No. 12.
Let’s take a look at the entire CFP Rankings top 25. Analysis by bowls expert Jerry Palm below.
College Football Playoff Rankings, Nov. 15
Georgia (10-0)
Ohio State (10-0)
Michigan (10-0)
TCU (10-0)
Tennessee (9-1)
LSU (8-2)
USC (9-1)
Alabama (8-2)
Clemson (9-1)
Utah (8-2)
Penn State (8-2)
Oregon (8-2)
North Carolina (9-1)
Ole Miss (8-2)
Kansas State (7-3)
UCLA (8-2)
Washington (8-2)
Notre Dame (7-3)
Florida State (7-3)
UCF (8-2)
Tulane (8-2)
Oklahoma State (7-3)
Oregon State (7-3)
NC State (7-3)
Cincinnati (8-2)
Analysis by bowls expert Jerry Palm
The only change in the top 10 this week was former Oregon dropping out, allowing LSU, USC, Alabama and Clemson to move up a spot. Utah also moves up to the top 10 ahead of a showdown with the Ducks for a leg up in the Pac-12 Championship Game race.
Only five teams remain that control their own fate in the chase for a spot in the four-team field, but they are not the top five teams in the rankings. The top four all control their own fate, but Tennessee does not. That is because if LSU beats Georgia, the Tigers would move into the top four and the Vols would be out of luck.
It is also possible that Tennessee could be passed by a 12-1 champion from another conference, most likely USC if the Trojans can pull that off. Their remaining schedule would include three ranked teams: at UCLA, vs. Notre Dame and the Pac-12 title game. The Clemson-North Carolina winner in the ACC would be in play as well, but it’s less likely to get to the top four.
Cincinnati makes its first appearance of the season in the rankings, checking in at No. 25. The Bearcats are the third AAC team in the rankings. It is extremely likely at this point that the Group of Five representative in the Cotton Bowl will come from among Cincy, UCF and Tulane. The Bearcats host the Green Wave to end the regular season with the winner likely traveling to Orlando to face the Knights for the AAC championship.
