Jake Cousins’ 2025 season is over before it ever began, as Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Monday that the right-hander is set to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Cousins, who had been on a rehab assignment while recovering from a right elbow flexor strain and then later battling pectoral discomfort, will have the procedure performed on Wednesday, finishing his season and likely keeping him off the mound for a good chunk of the 2026 season as well.

It’s been a nightmare year for the right-hander, who came into spring training with a forearm strain that landed him on the 60-Day IL to start the regular season. Then, his rehab assignment was recently paused after he “felt some stuff in his elbow,” according to Boone.

While the 30-year-old Cousins did not pitch in the big leagues this season, he proved to be a valuable bullpen arm in 2024 after being acquired in a March 31 trade with the White Sox for cash considerations. In 37 appearances last season, Cousins pitched to a 2.37 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP.

Congratulations, Red Sox: You won’t have to pay Rafael Devers a bunch of money when he (probably) isn’t very good anymore. You have successfully rid yourself of the unpleasant burden that is paying a player when he is well past his prime. More pertinently, you have shipped away a player whose inflexibility about his position proved too problematic to keep in the clubhouse. His unwillingness to pick up a glove to help the team in its time of need had pushed your relationship beyond repair, and now he’s gone. You did it. Hooray.

Now what?

For a franchise famously known for going eight-plus decades without a World Series, the Red Sox have had quite the surplus of success in the 21st century. Boston has won more World Series titles in the past 25 years than any other franchise — not to mention the gaudy collection of championships amassed by the city’s other sports teams — cementing a sky-high standard for a fan base that has come to expect not just competitiveness but also contention nearly every season.

But now, after a maddeningly uneven first 73 games and an industry-rattling trade that exported the team’s best hitter to the other league and other side of the country, the Red Sox are staring down the possibility of missing the postseason for a fourth consecutive year — something this franchise hasn’t done since 1991 to ‘94.

Or maybe not. Following an emphatic and invigorating series sweep of the Yankees, the Red Sox are above .500 for the first time since May 24 and have won five in a row for just the second time this season. Maybe the unpopular and bold decision to trade the face of the franchise and a world-class bat is the first in a series of moves that will better position this team for short- and long-term success. Or maybe the American League is wide-open enough that the Red Sox roster as currently constructed is good enough to snag a playoff spot.

Exactly how the Red Sox proceed from here is uncertain, but what’s clear is that some big-picture questions need to be answered sooner rather than later. Let’s dig into three of those now.

How do you replace one of the best hitters in baseball?

It’d be plenty difficult to replace Devers’ bat if the Red Sox had dealt him amidst one of his more standard seasons, one that saw his offensive stats rank among the 20-or-so best in baseball. But Devers has seemingly gone up a level this year. Since his bizarre 0-for-19 slump with 15 strikeouts to start the season, Devers has hit .292/.418/.542 with 15 homers in 68 games, good for a 162 wRC+ that ranks seventh in MLB over that span. Devers’ .389 wOBA, .400 xwOBA, 55.6% hard-hit rate and 16.8% walk rate are all career-best marks. He had been designated to hit, and he sure was hitting. Now he’ll likely keep hitting, but for another team, which means the bats still in Boston have some serious work to do to backfill Devers’ production.

The first task will be to identify a new designated hitter — or an assortment of hitters who can cycle through that spot. Having a rotation of sorts at DH is hardly uncommon, as it grants a manager the flexibility to deploy a deeper array of bats depending on the matchup and affords position players more days off their feet without taking them out of the lineup. At the same time, Devers was the rare slugger who warranted every-day reps at DH — he had started all 73 games this year for Boston — and replicating his production through any means is a tall task.

Alongside Alex Bregman, Devers formed one of the most dangerous 2-3 duos in the league. Now Devers is gone and Bregman is still on the injured list nursing a quad strain, leaving an enormous hole in the lineup. Jarren Duran has been solid as the leadoff man but notably worse than during his breakout campaign a year ago. Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez have performed admirably at first base in place of the injured Triston Casas. Rookie catcher Carlos Narvaez has been a revelation, but it’s hard to believe having him bat cleanup was ever Plan A. Veteran Trevor Story has shown modest signs of life recently after a wretched start to the season, but he’s hardly the impact bat he used to be. These players, among others, will need to step up their game at the plate if the offense is to stay afloat, particularly until Bregman returns.

Another fascinating character who could reemerge is Masataka Yoshida. In the third year of a five-year, $90 million contract and still on the injured list working his way back from shoulder surgery, Yoshida has faded into the background to an almost amusing degree amidst all the roster construction drama in Boston over the past few months. He was hitting in games during spring training but has had multiple setbacks in his attempts to throw at maximum effort, which have slowed his progress toward becoming a viable option in the outfield. Granted, it was and still is unclear how Yoshida would fit in the ultra-crowded Boston outfield even if able to throw. But with Devers gone, the DH role that Boston seemingly preferred for Yoshida is once again vacant. It might seem a bit strange to re-clog the DH spot with a hitter who, while perhaps underrated, is objectively much worse than Devers, but that might be the most obvious path forward for Boston given where things stand.

More broadly, the spotlight now burns even brighter on Boston’s heralded trio of top prospects: Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. Campbell raked in April before going ice-cold in May but has slowly started to rediscover his stride at the plate, albeit while still struggling mightily at second base. Mayer’s and Anthony’s careers are still in their infancy, with markedly less data than Campbell at the major-league level. No one is questioning these players’ star-level ceilings, but expecting them to approach their potential as rookies for a team with playoff aspirations feels like a lot to ask. On a team that is still without Bregman and just dealt away its best hitter, the kids have seemingly been given a vote of confidence that their time to make an impact is now. Let’s see how they respond.

How much will the players acquired from San Francisco help now and in the future?

It’s apparent that the frayed partnership between player and team and Devers’ potentially onerous contract were the driving forces behind this blockbuster transaction. But the Red Sox did receive four players in this deal, a quartet offering varying levels of promise moving forward. So, who are these guys?

Jordan Hicks is the most accomplished of the bunch, a 28-year-old flamethrower in his eighth major-league season. The Red Sox reportedly had interest in Hicks before the Giants signed him as a free agent two offseasons ago and made the decision to transition him to the rotation after years of coming out of the bullpen. That transition flatly failed, and now Hicks has a 6.47 ERA in the second year of a four-year, $44 million contract, the remainder of which now falls on the Red Sox.

Currently on the injured list due to a toe injury, Hicks last pitched on June 1. He still throws tremendously hard and gets a ton of groundballs, but he isn’t especially good at anything else; his command and ability to get whiffs remain poor. Hicks’ elite velocity unquestionably remains an attractive ingredient, but he hasn’t been an effective pitcher for a while. He immediately becomes a top-priority project for Boston’s pitching infrastructure to try to reestablish as a reliable relief option whenever he returns from injury.

Kyle Harrison, a 23-year-old left-hander with just 182 ⅔ major-league innings to his name, is a bigger upside play for Boston, as he’s not far removed from being one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and is under team control through the 2029 season. The Red Sox optioned Harrison to Triple-A upon acquiring him, but it’s reasonable to assume he could play a meaningful role in the big leagues at some point later this season.

Although his velocity has fluctuated since his call-up in 2023, Harrison’s heater is a truly terrific pitch when it’s sitting 95 mph, as it has more recently. He also throws from an unusually low arm angle, giving him a unique look for a starting pitcher. It’s now on Boston to help him round out the rest of his arsenal and develop starter-quality command to ensure a promising future in the middle of the Red Sox rotation for years to come. It’s unclear how much he’ll contribute this season and what role he’ll be deployed in if there are no rotation spots available, but Harrison is a talent worth getting excited about.

Outfielder James Tibbs III was my 11th-ranked prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft and was ultimately selected 13th overall by San Francisco. Without much added speed or defensive value — he played primarily first base and both corner outfield spots in college and has played exclusively right field as a pro — the lefty-hitting Tibbs’ calling card is his bat, which produced an epic statline (1.264 OPS) as a junior at Florida State en route to his first-round selection.

There were real concerns from scouts leading up to the draft about Tibbs’ ability to hit left-handed pitching, but he has done quite well so far this season in a small sample, with an .857 OPS overall in 57 games in the High-A Northwest League. That said, anyone who demolished high-level collegiate competition to the degree Tibbs did should be expected to hit well in A-ball. Double-A looms as a far more telling test that will help forecast Tibbs’ potential impact in Boston’s lineup. As for his defensive fit in Boston’s still overcrowded outfield depth chart … we’ll cross that road if/when we get there.

Jose Bello is the third pitcher heading to Boston in the Devers deal. The right-hander has been exceptionally effective early in the Arizona Complex League season (2.00 ERA in 18 IP, 28 K, 3 BB), working out of the bullpen in mostly multi-inning stints. At just 20 years old and yet to throw a pitch at a full-season affiliate, Bello is likely years away from contributing in the majors. He’s off to a promising start to his career, but he isn’t considered an elite prospect at this stage.

How will the Red Sox reallocate the money they no longer owe Devers, and how soon should we expect another move?

With San Francisco assuming the entirety of Devers’ contract, the Red Sox have cleared more than $250 million from their future books. In theory — and hopefully in practice — these savings can be reinvested in the roster in a significant way. But when? Doing that now would be next to impossible; it’s not like there are a bunch of All-Star free agents just hanging out in the middle of June.

That said, without a contract of such length and magnitude on their payroll for years to come, perhaps the Red Sox will be more comfortable pushing harder for a top free agent in the near future or pursuing another long-term extension with a key player already on the roster or finding a way to keep Bregman in Boston for the long haul if/when he opts out of his short-term pact after this season. Boston’s financial ceiling has been rather amorphous over the past half-decade. Devers’ presence on the roster last winter didn’t stop the team from reportedly being willing to offer $700 million to Juan Soto, but we’ve also seen the Red Sox act with self-imposed payroll restraints on multiple occasions in recent years.

Maybe the Sox spend big on a free agent this coming winter. Maybe they don’t. More pressing now will be how the front office retools a Devers-less lineup with a playoff berth still in mind. There’s little reason to take this trade as indication that the Red Sox will be sellers this July, but it’s fair to expect them to add further. Even with Devers out of the mix, this Red Sox roster is riddled with confusing conundrums and difficult puzzle pieces for the front office and coaching staff to put together. Perhaps the increased financial flexibility enables the team to add an expensive star veteran ahead of next month’s trade deadline, but we’re still weeks away from knowing what players will be available.

More simply, this is not a franchise that should use this dramatic Devers divorce as a sign that this season is suddenly a year of transition, rather than one of contention. More moves must be on the way in short order, someway, somehow. Based on what we’ve seen from this franchise in recent years, I feel pretty good that there’s plenty more drama to come.

Congratulations, Red Sox: You won’t have to pay Rafael Devers a bunch of money when he (probably) isn’t very good anymore. You have successfully rid yourself of the unpleasant burden that is paying a player when he is well past his prime. More pertinently, you have shipped away a player whose inflexibility about his position proved too problematic to keep in the clubhouse. His unwillingness to pick up a glove to help the team in its time of need had pushed your relationship beyond repair, and now he’s gone. You did it. Hooray.

Now what?

For a franchise famously known for going eight-plus decades without a World Series, the Red Sox have had quite the surplus of success in the 21st century. Boston has won more World Series titles in the past 25 years than any other franchise — not to mention the gaudy collection of championships amassed by the city’s other sports teams — cementing a sky-high standard for a fan base that has come to expect not just competitiveness but also contention nearly every season.

But now, after a maddeningly uneven first 73 games and an industry-rattling trade that exported the team’s best hitter to the other league and other side of the country, the Red Sox are staring down the possibility of missing the postseason for a fourth consecutive year — something this franchise hasn’t done since 1991 to ‘94.

Or maybe not. Following an emphatic and invigorating series sweep of the Yankees, the Red Sox are above .500 for the first time since May 24 and have won five in a row for just the second time this season. Maybe the unpopular and bold decision to trade the face of the franchise and a world-class bat is the first in a series of moves that will better position this team for short- and long-term success. Or maybe the American League is wide-open enough that the Red Sox roster as currently constructed is good enough to snag a playoff spot.

Exactly how the Red Sox proceed from here is uncertain, but what’s clear is that some big-picture questions need to be answered sooner rather than later. Let’s dig into three of those now.

How do you replace one of the best hitters in baseball?

It’d be plenty difficult to replace Devers’ bat if the Red Sox had dealt him amidst one of his more standard seasons, one that saw his offensive stats rank among the 20-or-so best in baseball. But Devers has seemingly gone up a level this year. Since his bizarre 0-for-19 slump with 15 strikeouts to start the season, Devers has hit .292/.418/.542 with 15 homers in 68 games, good for a 162 wRC+ that ranks seventh in MLB over that span. Devers’ .389 wOBA, .400 xwOBA, 55.6% hard-hit rate and 16.8% walk rate are all career-best marks. He had been designated to hit, and he sure was hitting. Now he’ll likely keep hitting, but for another team, which means the bats still in Boston have some serious work to do to backfill Devers’ production.

The first task will be to identify a new designated hitter — or an assortment of hitters who can cycle through that spot. Having a rotation of sorts at DH is hardly uncommon, as it grants a manager the flexibility to deploy a deeper array of bats depending on the matchup and affords position players more days off their feet without taking them out of the lineup. At the same time, Devers was the rare slugger who warranted every-day reps at DH — he had started all 73 games this year for Boston — and replicating his production through any means is a tall task.

Alongside Alex Bregman, Devers formed one of the most dangerous 2-3 duos in the league. Now Devers is gone and Bregman is still on the injured list nursing a quad strain, leaving an enormous hole in the lineup. Jarren Duran has been solid as the leadoff man but notably worse than during his breakout campaign a year ago. Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez have performed admirably at first base in place of the injured Triston Casas. Rookie catcher Carlos Narvaez has been a revelation, but it’s hard to believe having him bat cleanup was ever Plan A. Veteran Trevor Story has shown modest signs of life recently after a wretched start to the season, but he’s hardly the impact bat he used to be. These players, among others, will need to step up their game at the plate if the offense is to stay afloat, particularly until Bregman returns.

Another fascinating character who could reemerge is Masataka Yoshida. In the third year of a five-year, $90 million contract and still on the injured list working his way back from shoulder surgery, Yoshida has faded into the background to an almost amusing degree amidst all the roster construction drama in Boston over the past few months. He was hitting in games during spring training but has had multiple setbacks in his attempts to throw at maximum effort, which have slowed his progress toward becoming a viable option in the outfield. Granted, it was and still is unclear how Yoshida would fit in the ultra-crowded Boston outfield even if able to throw. But with Devers gone, the DH role that Boston seemingly preferred for Yoshida is once again vacant. It might seem a bit strange to re-clog the DH spot with a hitter who, while perhaps underrated, is objectively much worse than Devers, but that might be the most obvious path forward for Boston given where things stand.

More broadly, the spotlight now burns even brighter on Boston’s heralded trio of top prospects: Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. Campbell raked in April before going ice-cold in May but has slowly started to rediscover his stride at the plate, albeit while still struggling mightily at second base. Mayer’s and Anthony’s careers are still in their infancy, with markedly less data than Campbell at the major-league level. No one is questioning these players’ star-level ceilings, but expecting them to approach their potential as rookies for a team with playoff aspirations feels like a lot to ask. On a team that is still without Bregman and just dealt away its best hitter, the kids have seemingly been given a vote of confidence that their time to make an impact is now. Let’s see how they respond.

How much will the players acquired from San Francisco help now and in the future?

It’s apparent that the frayed partnership between player and team and Devers’ potentially onerous contract were the driving forces behind this blockbuster transaction. But the Red Sox did receive four players in this deal, a quartet offering varying levels of promise moving forward. So, who are these guys?

Jordan Hicks is the most accomplished of the bunch, a 28-year-old flamethrower in his eighth major-league season. The Red Sox reportedly had interest in Hicks before the Giants signed him as a free agent two offseasons ago and made the decision to transition him to the rotation after years of coming out of the bullpen. That transition flatly failed, and now Hicks has a 6.47 ERA in the second year of a four-year, $44 million contract, the remainder of which now falls on the Red Sox.

Currently on the injured list due to a toe injury, Hicks last pitched on June 1. He still throws tremendously hard and gets a ton of groundballs, but he isn’t especially good at anything else; his command and ability to get whiffs remain poor. Hicks’ elite velocity unquestionably remains an attractive ingredient, but he hasn’t been an effective pitcher for a while. He immediately becomes a top-priority project for Boston’s pitching infrastructure to try to reestablish as a reliable relief option whenever he returns from injury.

Kyle Harrison, a 23-year-old left-hander with just 182 ⅔ major-league innings to his name, is a bigger upside play for Boston, as he’s not far removed from being one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and is under team control through the 2029 season. The Red Sox optioned Harrison to Triple-A upon acquiring him, but it’s reasonable to assume he could play a meaningful role in the big leagues at some point later this season.

Although his velocity has fluctuated since his call-up in 2023, Harrison’s heater is a truly terrific pitch when it’s sitting 95 mph, as it has more recently. He also throws from an unusually low arm angle, giving him a unique look for a starting pitcher. It’s now on Boston to help him round out the rest of his arsenal and develop starter-quality command to ensure a promising future in the middle of the Red Sox rotation for years to come. It’s unclear how much he’ll contribute this season and what role he’ll be deployed in if there are no rotation spots available, but Harrison is a talent worth getting excited about.

Outfielder James Tibbs III was my 11th-ranked prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft and was ultimately selected 13th overall by San Francisco. Without much added speed or defensive value — he played primarily first base and both corner outfield spots in college and has played exclusively right field as a pro — the lefty-hitting Tibbs’ calling card is his bat, which produced an epic statline (1.264 OPS) as a junior at Florida State en route to his first-round selection.

There were real concerns from scouts leading up to the draft about Tibbs’ ability to hit left-handed pitching, but he has done quite well so far this season in a small sample, with an .857 OPS overall in 57 games in the High-A Northwest League. That said, anyone who demolished high-level collegiate competition to the degree Tibbs did should be expected to hit well in A-ball. Double-A looms as a far more telling test that will help forecast Tibbs’ potential impact in Boston’s lineup. As for his defensive fit in Boston’s still overcrowded outfield depth chart … we’ll cross that road if/when we get there.

Jose Bello is the third pitcher heading to Boston in the Devers deal. The right-hander has been exceptionally effective early in the Arizona Complex League season (2.00 ERA in 18 IP, 28 K, 3 BB), working out of the bullpen in mostly multi-inning stints. At just 20 years old and yet to throw a pitch at a full-season affiliate, Bello is likely years away from contributing in the majors. He’s off to a promising start to his career, but he isn’t considered an elite prospect at this stage.

How will the Red Sox reallocate the money they no longer owe Devers, and how soon should we expect another move?

With San Francisco assuming the entirety of Devers’ contract, the Red Sox have cleared more than $250 million from their future books. In theory — and hopefully in practice — these savings can be reinvested in the roster in a significant way. But when? Doing that now would be next to impossible; it’s not like there are a bunch of All-Star free agents just hanging out in the middle of June.

That said, without a contract of such length and magnitude on their payroll for years to come, perhaps the Red Sox will be more comfortable pushing harder for a top free agent in the near future or pursuing another long-term extension with a key player already on the roster or finding a way to keep Bregman in Boston for the long haul if/when he opts out of his short-term pact after this season. Boston’s financial ceiling has been rather amorphous over the past half-decade. Devers’ presence on the roster last winter didn’t stop the team from reportedly being willing to offer $700 million to Juan Soto, but we’ve also seen the Red Sox act with self-imposed payroll restraints on multiple occasions in recent years.

Maybe the Sox spend big on a free agent this coming winter. Maybe they don’t. More pressing now will be how the front office retools a Devers-less lineup with a playoff berth still in mind. There’s little reason to take this trade as indication that the Red Sox will be sellers this July, but it’s fair to expect them to add further. Even with Devers out of the mix, this Red Sox roster is riddled with confusing conundrums and difficult puzzle pieces for the front office and coaching staff to put together. Perhaps the increased financial flexibility enables the team to add an expensive star veteran ahead of next month’s trade deadline, but we’re still weeks away from knowing what players will be available.

More simply, this is not a franchise that should use this dramatic Devers divorce as a sign that this season is suddenly a year of transition, rather than one of contention. More moves must be on the way in short order, someway, somehow. Based on what we’ve seen from this franchise in recent years, I feel pretty good that there’s plenty more drama to come.

The Indiana Pacers have been one of the great underdog stories in recent NBA history, making the 2025 NBA Finals with 66-1 odds to win the title at BetMGM heading into the playoffs. They have won a remarkable nine games outright as an underdog and are a very profitable 13-7 against the spread in the postseason.

It’s a surprise to some the Finals are tied at 2-2 with the Pacers looking pretty equal to the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

While the Pacers entered the NBA Finals as huge +500 underdogs to the Thunder, one bettor was a believer before the Finals even began — and stands to win almost $900,000 if the Pacers can finish off their improbable run and win the franchise’s first NBA championship.

A bettor in Colorado placed a wager of $127,667 on the Pacers to win the title at +700 odds at Fanatics Sportsbook before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks on May 31. The wager would win $893,669 if Indiana can win two of the remaining three games in the Finals.

The Pacers are 9.5-point underdogs in Game 5 in Oklahoma City on Monday night and currently have +450 odds to win the finals at BetMGM.

The Indiana Pacers have been one of the great underdog stories in recent NBA history, making the 2025 NBA Finals with 66-1 odds to win the title at BetMGM heading into the playoffs. They have won a remarkable nine games outright as an underdog and are a very profitable 13-7 against the spread in the postseason.

It’s a surprise to some the Finals are tied at 2-2 with the Pacers looking pretty equal to the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

While the Pacers entered the NBA Finals as huge +500 underdogs to the Thunder, one bettor was a believer before the Finals even began — and stands to win almost $900,000 if the Pacers can finish off their improbable run and win the franchise’s first NBA championship.

A bettor in Colorado placed a wager of $127,667 on the Pacers to win the title at +700 odds at Fanatics Sportsbook before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks on May 31. The wager would win $893,669 if Indiana can win two of the remaining three games in the Finals.

The Pacers are 9.5-point underdogs in Game 5 in Oklahoma City on Monday night and currently have +450 odds to win the finals at BetMGM.

The 2025 MLB All-Star Game is just under a month away, and for the first time in his time with the Mets, Francisco Lindor appears primed to make the National League’s starting lineup.

With the first update on the initial phase of voting now public, Lindor has received 1,019,273 votes, nearly double the number of the next closest shortstop, Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts (597,188).

Lindor – with 13 doubles, 14 home runs, and a .279/.353/.475 slashline for an .828 OPS – is the lone Mets position player to be in first for their position.

Juan Soto is closest to grabbing a starting spot, as he is fourth among outfielders with 625,618 votes, behind the Chicago Cubs’ duo of Pete Crow-Armstrong (1,126,119) and Kyle Tucker (704,740) and Los Angeles’s Teoscar Hernández (685,553).

Pete Alonso (895,900) is also close on the heels of the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (1,136,389) to be the NL’s starter at first base.

While the fan voting is a popularity contest and not always necessarily about statistics, it is tough to find much distance between Alonso and Freeman.

Entering Monday night New York’s slugger has 22 doubles, 17 home runs, and 63 RBI with a .293/.390/.579 slashline for a .960 OPS (174 OPS+ and 169 wRC+). LA’s man has 21 doubles, nine home runs, and 41 RBI with a .336/.409/.558 slash line for a .967 OPS (173 OPS+ and a 168 wRC+).

What about the Yankees?

No surprise for the team from the Bronx: Aaron Judge received the most votes for any player in the majors and has more than double the votes for any AL outfielder with 1,568,527 (He is 169,756 votes ahead of Shohei Ohtani for the most votes overall).

Even after a rough series in Boston, the reigning MVP has done nothing but prove to be one of the most feared hitters in the game as he has 17 doubles, 26 home runs, and 60 RBI, with a .378/.473/.756 slashline for a 1.228 OPS (238 OPS+ and 236 wRC+).

The Yanks also have Paul Goldschmidt (667,258) in first place at first base, just ahead of Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (615, 726).

Ben Rice (232,331) is in second place for DH behind Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn (353,029). (Rafael Devers led American League DHs with 796,382 votes, but those votes are moot after the Red Sox shipped him off to the Giants on Sunday.)

First-year Yank Cody Bellinger (416,858) is in sixth place among outfielders, but just under 60,000 votes behind the Angels’ Mike Trout (475,265), who occupies the third and final outfield slot.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. (250,416) is fourth for AL second baseman, which is currently led by ex-Yank and current Detroit Tiger Gleyber Torres (535,079).

***

The player who winds up as the top vote-getter at each position before phase 1 of voting ends on June 26 will receive an automatic spot on the All-Star team, while the second-highest vote-getter at each position advances to phase 2 of voting (June 30-July 2).

The reserves and pitchers on the team will be determined by the player ballot, which means deserving Mets and Yankees can get in that way if they aren’t voted in by the fans.

Each team will have 32 players (20 position players and 12 pitchers, which includes at least three relievers).

The game will take place at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 15.

On this episode of Good Word with Goodwill, Vince and Jared Greenberg preview Monday’s huge Game 5 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers.

Next, Vince and Jared react to Desmond Bane being traded to the Orlando Magic and discuss if Orlando gave up too many assets in the trade.

Later, Vince and Jared take a look at the Memphis Grizzlies and debate what they should do moving forward with Ja Morant. Also, Vince and Jared give their thoughts on if the Miami Heat or Houston Rockets should make a push for Kevin Durant.

(1:56) NBA Finals Game 5 preview

(10:00) Rick Carlisle brings up officials

(17:01) Orlando Magic trade for Desmond Bane

(24:22) What does Bane trade mean for Ja Morant, Grizzlies?

(33:09) Can Ja Morant be the best player on a contending team?

(35:36) Should the Rockets pursue Ja Morant, Kevin Durant?

(41:58) Does Kevin Durant to the Miami Heat make sense?

(50:38) NBA needs to rethink Draft Night coverage

(AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

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