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Casey Schmitt’s knee injury scrambles Giants’ plans with trade deadline approaching

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12 hours ago

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SAN FRANCISCO — It doesn’t matter where a team resides in the standings. The trade deadline creates anticipation in every major-league clubhouse.

That anticipation comes in different flavors. For contending teams, the mood is pretty straightforward: the hopeful giddiness of a fourth grader on Christmas Eve, wondering what infusions of talent will await them under the tree.

For also-rans like the San Francisco Giants, it’s a little more complicated. The players most likely to be dealt, primarily the impending free agents, can look forward to a 20-game jump in the standings and the prospect of playing meaningful baseball again while platforming themselves for another contract — even if decorum requires they keep their eagerness under wraps. The players less likely to be traded, either because they are inexpensive or underperforming, have their guard up as well because they know anything can happen.

Then there are players like Giants outfielder Grant McCray, who are equipped with a wealth of tools and a wellspring of confidence and feel they only need a stretch of runway in the big leagues to take off. If the trade deadline takes one player out of the Giants’ orbit, perhaps that’ll change the weather patterns — and the opportunities — for everyone else.

But the trade deadline isn’t the only catalyst for change. There are all the standard wobbles in a 162-game season that can happen at any moment, and as Casey Schmitt experienced Monday night, some of them are crueler than others.

Schmitt slammed on the brakes around first base and grabbed at his left knee after reaching on a bloop single in the second inning of the Giants’ 3-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. He was in too much discomfort to attempt to stay in the game and limped off the field, replaced by pinch runner Christian Koss.

The Giants provided no preliminary diagnosis and manager Tony Vitello painted a disjointed picture of Schmitt’s outlook, initially saying only that Schmitt wouldn’t play on Tuesday and, a bit later, acknowledging that the power-hitting infielder “is probably going to miss some significant time.”

The team will know more after Schmitt, who appeared to hyperextend his left knee, goes for an MRI Tuesday. In all likelihood, Schmitt is headed to the injured list, interrupting what’s been a breakout season that had him on pace for 32 home runs and 85 RBIs and likely would’ve won him incumbent status as an everyday player next spring.

That’s because there’s every expectation the Giants will trade Luis Arraez, whose impending free agency almost certainly overrides his .326 average, team-leading 3.2 bWAR and the feisty joy with which he plays and has made him a fan favorite.

The Giants have bounced Schmitt all over the diamond this season to keep his bat in the lineup. They even started him in the outfield, where he hadn’t played since wearing a blue Eastlake High Titans jersey in Chula Vista, Calif. If Giants president Buster Posey has spent any time thinking about how he’d console fans over trading Arraez, then selling the upside of Schmitt as the everyday second baseman would be a good place to start.

Now the Giants have a bunch of new stuff to think about. Assuming Schmitt goes on the IL, who replaces him on the roster? And assuming Arraez is traded before Monday’s deadline, who plays second base the rest of the way?

One other potential question now appears moot: Should the Giants sell high on Schmitt and try to flip him for some pitching?

Schmitt has been playing third base over the past four weeks while Matt Chapman was on the IL with an abdominal strain, and although Chapman is nearing the end of his rehab schedule, Vitello said the five-time Gold Glove third baseman needed more time and wasn’t likely to be activated on Tuesday.

“Almost a certainty (a roster move) would involve somebody else rather than rush things (with Chapman) and have something else pop up,” Vitello said.

Here’s the thing: The Giants don’t have any other healthy minor-league position players on the 40-man roster. They do have two roster vacancies, though. (Can you imagine former Giants president and waiver-wire enthusiast Farhan Zaidi considering that anything other than an affront?)

So power-hitting corner infielder Parks Harber, who was batting .415 in nine games since moving up from Double-A Richmond to Triple-A Sacramento, is one possibility. The Giants would need to place Harber on the 40-man roster this winter anyway to shield him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft. Nate Furman, Jake Holton and Turner Hill are other possibilities.

And if Schmitt ends up missing several weeks or more? Well, Jonah Cox is nearly recovered from his oblique injury and could merit a longer look. But the player who might stand to benefit most is Jesus Rodríguez, whose opportunities have been limited to spots off the bench and rare starts as the third catcher on the roster.

Rodríguez drew one of those assignments behind the plate Monday night, hit a leadoff double in the third inning, and scored on Arraez’s single. Rodríguez also drew raves from right-hander Tyler Mahle for his game-calling skills.

McCray did the rest. Given some of that runway over the past week, the 25-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder has been putting his entire game on display.

McCray launched a two-run home run that traveled 408 feet and landed comfortably in the left-center field bleachers in the fourth inning, which was all the support Mahle and three relievers needed as the Giants opened a home series against the NL Central leaders with one of their tidier victories on the shores of McCovey Cove.

“I’ve just been able to get at-bats, and really, that’s been the main thing,” McCray said. “I know I can change the game offensively and defensively, so being able to get to show that side has been awesome.”

It’s fair to wonder why McCray had to wait this long. He did everything the Giants asked of him in spring exhibition games, working counts and drawing walks while cutting down on what had been an indefensibly high strikeout rate. McCray also plays with a fearlessness that appeared perfectly in step with the environment that Posey hoped to create when he hired Vitello, who led a rollicking University of Tennessee program to a College World Series title in 2024.

“In the last seven days, he’s shown you everything he can do, whether it’s stealing a base in an important situation, throwing runners out, playing hard up until the last moment, and if you count the Seattle (series), making a couple really nice catches in the outfield,” Vitello said. “And now he’s got some at-bats and seen some live pitching under his belt. Getting to see him use that swing, it’s got a lot of whip to it, and the numbers or the results kind of speak to itself.

“He provides something we could use a little more of, everybody could, is a little attitude to it, too.”

What McCray wasn’t provided was a place on the opening day roster. The Giants optioned him well before their last rounds of cuts in Arizona. Sometimes it takes a whole lot of wobbles from the baseball universe to correct a mistake.

On balance, the Giants’ $10 million investment in Mahle wasn’t their soundest decision, either. He was 1-7 with a 6.04 ERA in 11 starts before hitting the IL with a strained hamstring at the end of May, and the Giants were essentially cooked by the time he returned.

There’s still time to rescue some value from that contract, though. Mahle has looked awfully good over his last three starts, flashing a mid-90s fastball and regaining late life on his splitter while holding opponents to four runs over 18 innings. He faced one more than the minimum over six innings while containing one of the NL’s highest-scoring lineups, using his splitter to induce three double-play grounders.

All along, the assumption has been that left-hander Robbie Ray, the 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner and an All-Star last season, would be the rental pitcher who could fetch the Giants something of value at the trade deadline. But Ray is owed roughly $8 million the rest of the way. Mahle is owed closer to $3 million, and even if their salaries were cash neutral, he might be pitching well enough to be the preferred choice for some teams.

The Giants, of course, can and should throw in as much cash as necessary with either starting pitcher to extract the maximum talent from an acquiring team. If there’s sufficient interest, the Giants could have two vacancies in their rotation by the middle of their next road trip. Combined with the loss of right-hander Trevor McDonald, whose season is almost certainly over because of a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, the Giants could have a whole mess of innings to fill in August and September.

Here’s another baseball truism that applies universally: Shortages create opportunities.

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La Liga title odds: Barcelona favourites again despite Real Madrid rebuild

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4 minutes ago

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July 29, 2026

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Barcelona will begin the 2026/27 season as favourites to retain their La Liga crown after lifting the trophy in front of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the end of last season.

Few rivalries in world football can match El Clasico, widely regarded as the biggest fixture in the sport.

And this season promises the challenge of a fightback. Real Madrid failed to win a single trophy last term and have turned back to legendary boss José Mourinho. They have backed him with new signings, and are determined to reclaim their place at the top of Spanish football.

Whether they can overturn Barcelona’s dominance is another question entirely.

Barca are the team to beat and boast a core of young, homegrown players that should sustain them for years to come. They are odds-on favourites to retain their La Liga title this coming season, and with good reason. The Catalans finished eight points clear in top spot last season, illustrating just how dominant they were over the course of the campaign.


Barcelona coasted to a third title in four seasons and were the best team in La Liga by almost every metric. They scored the most goals per match (2.5), boasted the highest average possession share per match (68.8 per cent), and kept the most clean sheets (15). For anyone to catch them, those numbers will have to dip.

If Barca have a weakness, it’s their high line. This is not to say that the high line itself is a weakness — it is a key component of the way manager Hansi Flick operates, keeping Barcelona high up the pitch so they can counter-press opponents as aggressively as possible. However, the space in behind the high line can be exploited.

In the transfer market they have had a focus on attack so far, with €80m spent on the signing of winger Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United and Karim Adeyemi also arriving from Borussia Dortmund to give Flick even more speed to utilise in the final third.

This is Flick doubling down on his high-risk approach, although Barcelona’s squad is somewhat incomplete until a new centre forward arrives. Only Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal scored more league goals than Robert Lewandowski last season, highlighting the need to replace the Polish striker, who joined the Chicago Fire over the summer.

Torres can operate through the middle and is fresh from scoring the winner for Spain in the 2026 World Cup final. However, the 26-year-old might not be the elite level forward many Barcelona supporters envisage leading the line.

Many of Barca’s rivals boast better options in the centre forward position — including Madrid.

Kylian Mbappé is fresh from a World Cup which saw him win the Golden Boot and Madrid are 13/10 to win the Spanish title next season, possibly reflecting the quality of their forward line, which could soon be confirmed to include Yan Diomande.

Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior combined for 41 league goals last season with Jude Bellingham also finding the back of the net six times from midfield. Mourinho, however, must find a way to balance his forward line with the rest of the team, something that proved too difficult for previous coaches Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa.

Vinícius is being linked with a departure to Arsenal, and such an exit would give Mourinho more freedom to set up Real Madrid in his own image. The midfield might also look different by the time the summer transfer window closes, with Rodri a target. The 2026 World Cup winner would give Real Madrid the midfield anchor they have lacked since the retirement of Toni Kroos.

Only Leandro Paredes averaged more accurate passes per 90 minutes at the World Cup than Rodri, who was a controlling influence at the base of the Spanish midfield. However, Mourinho isn’t renowned for setting up his teams to play possession-heavy football and so Rodri might be an awkward fit for his new-look side should he join.

Real Madrid have already made a number of intriguing signings. Marc Cucurella, Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konaté and Bernardo Silva have all made the move to the Spanish capital this summer.

Marc Cucurella’s move to Real Madrid from Chelsea

David Ornstein and more

While Barcelona know what they are and play with a clear and defined style, Real Madrid are hoping returning boss Mourinho can impose his own ideas on a group of players that have lacked direction recently.

This contrast has the potential to produce a compelling title race at the top of the table in La Liga. One way or another, this rivalry will have another chapter to write.

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How to watch Red Sox vs. Athletics: TV channel and streaming options for July 28

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13 minutes ago

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July 29, 2026

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The Athletics hope to break their three-game losing run against the Boston Red Sox, at 9:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Jake Bennett (6-3, 2.58 ERA) gets the start for the Red Sox, who are 55-50 this season and third in the AL East. Gage Jump (3-6, 4.42 ERA) is the expected starter for the Athletics, who are 44-62 and fourth in the AL West.

How to watch Boston Red Sox vs. Athletics

Red Sox vs. Athletics odds

  • Favorite Moneyline: Red Sox -155
  • Underdog Moneyline: Athletics +125
  • Total: 10
  • Total Over Odds: -118
  • Total Under Odds: -102

Injury reports

Red Sox

Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 10 Day IL (Forearm), Marcelo Mayer: 10 Day IL (Forearm), Tanner Houck: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Zack Kelly: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Trevor Story: 60 Day IL (Abdomen), Garrett Crochet: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Roman Anthony: 60 Day IL (Wrist), Johan Oviedo: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Kutter Crawford: 60 Day IL (Wrist), Triston Casas: 60 Day IL (Knee), Curtis Mead: day-to-day (Hand)

Athletics

Shea Langeliers: 10 Day IL (Knee), Zack Gelof: 10 Day IL (Knee), Josh Kuroda-Grauer: 10 Day IL (Testicle), Justin Sterner: 15 Day IL (Knee), Mark Leiter Jr.: 15 Day IL (Hip), J.T. Ginn: 15 Day IL (Finger), Denzel Clarke: 60 Day IL (Foot), Brooks Kriske: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Brent Rooker: 60 Day IL (Knee), Luis Severino: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Gunnar Hoglund: 60 Day IL (Knee), Jeffrey Springs: day-to-day (Undisclosed)

Stats to know

  • Boston’s Willson Contreras is slashing .287/.389/.544 this season with 22 home runs (15th in MLB), 66 RBIs (15th in MLB) and an OPS of .932 (6th in MLB). He has a 25% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate in 404 plate appearances, and he has scored 54 total runs.
  • In 446 plate appearances, Wilyer Abreu is hitting .251/.324/.437 with a .761 OPS and six steals on nine attempts. He has hit 15 long balls, driven in 51 runs and scored 53 times.
  • Nick Kurtz has hit 21 home runs this season. He has also tallied 69 RBIs (9th in MLB) and has scored 62 runs. In 421 plate appearances, he has recorded a .263 BA, .401 OBP and .497 SLG with an 18.3% walk rate and a 32.1% strikeout rate. He has been effective on the base paths, recording seven steals on eight attempts.
  • In 389 plate appearances, Tyler Soderstrom has posted a 17.7% strikeout rate and a 12.3% walk rate while slashing .252/.350/.481 with 17 home runs, 50 RBIs and 50 runs scored.

This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

Photo: Jamie Squire, Ishika Samant, Scott Taetsch, Alika Jenner / Getty Images

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Commanders GM Adam Peters dances around Brandon Aiyuk, WRs questions ahead of camp

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21 minutes ago

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July 29, 2026

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ASHBURN, Va. — Adam Peters knew the question was coming, in some form or another.

During his annual pre-training camp press conference on Tuesday, the Commanders’ general manager spent most of his time in front of the cameras talking about his receivers — and another receiver not on the roster.

“(We’re) really happy with who’s in that room, really happy with how the guys progressed and stepped up, and I think they’re going to take another step in this training camp,” Peters began when first asked about Washington’s receivers. “But like with any other room and any other place, if we have ways to get better, we’re going to look into that and really assess the decision, if it’s the right move for our team or not.”

The Commanders overhauled much of their roster this offseason, adding starting talent and depth to nearly every position. And for the most part, the team appears to be improved — on paper, anyway — from last season, when it finished 5-12 with a leaky defense and an injury-riddled offense.

The Commanders’ receiving corps remains somewhat of a mystery, though. There is no clear leader for the “No. 2” wideout position opposite Terry McLaurin. The vacancy in that role isn’t necessarily new for the Commanders; receiving depth has been a question mark for years. But the lack of a proven outside receiver is especially glaring this year given the troubles the Commanders had last season, when injuries (and McLaurin’s contract stalemate during camp) hindered the offense for much of the year.

Early in the offseason, receiver Brandon Aiyuk seemed like a real possibility given his familiarity with Peters, quarterback Jayden Daniels and the 49ers’ anticipated split with Aiyuk.

After Aiyuk spent much of the summer criticizing the 49ers and vowing to sign with the Commanders once released, it’s fair to wonder if the possibility of him landing in Washington has diminished. No matter, he remains on the 49ers’ reserve/left-squad list and is unable to play anywhere else until he is reinstated by the NFL and released.

Peters has not publicly said if Washington would be interested in Aiyuk (doing so would violate the NFL’s anti-tampering policy), but reporters tried, albeit playfully, to pry a concrete answer from him on Tuesday.

When asked how much a player’s social media presence factors into their evaluation of him, Peters laughed and responded, “That’s a good roundabout question.”

“We look at that stuff,” he continued with a grin. “I mean, it’s not always the first thing we look at. Obviously, you’re looking at the tape and you talk to the teams the players have been on and how they were in the locker room, the players that played with them and so on and so forth to make those decisions. But that’s not usually a huge part of it. Usually.”

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