The Boston Red Sox are calling up top pitching prospect Payton Tolle to start Friday’s game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’ll be matched up against Pirates ace Paul Skenes in his MLB debut.

Boston is making the move as the team returns home from a 7-1 road trip that moved them to within 3.5 games of the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East. Tolle, 22, was the Red Sox’s second-round pick in last year’s draft out of TCU and has rocketed through the minor-league system. He was ranked as the team’s No. 2 prospect by MLB.com.

Overall this season, the left-hander has compiled a 3.44 ERA with 133 strikeouts in 91 2/3 innings. He began the year with high Single-A Greenville, striking out 14.9 batters per nine innings in 11 appearances, before moving up to Double-A Portland (12.3 Ks/9 in six games). After three starts with Triple-A Worcester (10.2 Ks/9), Tolle is getting the call up to the majors. 

That performance tracks with his numbers from his senior season at TCU, when he struck out 125 batters in 81 1/3 innings through 14 starts. Tolle generates top velocity with a longer extension that allows him to release the ball even closer to the hitter than many other pitchers. 

Tolle takes the fifth spot in the Red Sox rotation that was previously held by Walker Buehler before he was demoted to the bullpen last week. 

“Obviously, making the jump all the way to Triple-A and still dominating hitters is really impressive,” Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey told The Athletic this week. 

“So we know that it’s elite extension and an elite four-seam [fastball], and again, just try to find something else to pair with it,” he added. “But I think he can come up and dominate hitters with that fastball. We’ll see where and when he arrives.”

Boston starting pitchers currently rank 10th in MLB with a 3.84 ERA. With a 3.37 bullpen ERA (third in MLB), the team is second in the majors with an overall 3.60 ERA.

The Red Sox have been aggressive in calling up their top prospects this season to provide a boost while competing with the Blue Jays and New York Yankees in the AL East. Previously, Boston promoted infielders Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer, in addition to outfielders Roman Anthony and Jhostynxon Garcia. 

That youth movement has had varying levels of success. But if Tolle brings the sort of impact to the team that Anthony has (.857 OPS, 18 doubles, 7 homers, 29 RBI), the Red Sox will be overjoyed. 

The Boston Red Sox are calling up top pitching prospect Payton Tolle to start Friday’s game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’ll be matched up against Pirates ace Paul Skenes in his MLB debut.

Boston is making the move as the team returns home from a 7-1 road trip that moved them to within 3.5 games of the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East. Tolle, 22, was the Red Sox’s second-round pick in last year’s draft out of TCU and has rocketed through the minor-league system. He was ranked as the team’s No. 2 prospect by MLB.com.

Overall this season, the left-hander has compiled a 3.44 ERA with 133 strikeouts in 91 2/3 innings. He began the year with high Single-A Greenville, striking out 14.9 batters per nine innings in 11 appearances, before moving up to Double-A Portland (12.3 Ks/9 in six games). After three starts with Triple-A Worcester (10.2 Ks/9), Tolle is getting the call up to the majors. 

That performance tracks with his numbers from his senior season at TCU, when he struck out 125 batters in 81 1/3 innings through 14 starts. Tolle generates top velocity with a longer extension that allows him to release the ball even closer to the hitter than many other pitchers. 

Tolle takes the fifth spot in the Red Sox rotation that was previously held by Walker Buehler before he was demoted to the bullpen last week. 

“Obviously, making the jump all the way to Triple-A and still dominating hitters is really impressive,” Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey told The Athletic this week. 

“So we know that it’s elite extension and an elite four-seam [fastball], and again, just try to find something else to pair with it,” he added. “But I think he can come up and dominate hitters with that fastball. We’ll see where and when he arrives.”

Boston starting pitchers currently rank 10th in MLB with a 3.84 ERA. With a 3.37 bullpen ERA (third in MLB), the team is second in the majors with an overall 3.60 ERA.

The Red Sox have been aggressive in calling up their top prospects this season to provide a boost while competing with the Blue Jays and New York Yankees in the AL East. Previously, Boston promoted infielders Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer, in addition to outfielders Roman Anthony and Jhostynxon Garcia. 

That youth movement has had varying levels of success. But if Tolle brings the sort of impact to the team that Anthony has (.857 OPS, 18 doubles, 7 homers, 29 RBI), the Red Sox will be overjoyed. 

In the year 2025, Dallas saw Micah Parsons and Luka Dončić, two future Hall of Fame talents, leave town at the ripe age of 26. And not just leave town, but escorted out via trade.

On Feb. 2, Dončić was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers in arguably the most shocking trade in NBA history. And on Thursday, Parsons was dealt to the Green Bay Packers after a month of bad blood with team owner Jerry Jones.

It doesn’t matter how justifiable a move was from a front-office perspective, how badly some relationships had deteriorated. That’s going to hurt for any fanbase that had been planning to watch those superstars lead their team for another decade.

Of course, despite the nearly identical broad strokes, there are some key differences to what could go down as the two most infamous trades in Dallas history. Let’s break down all the similarities and differences in a painful year for North Texas.

Similar: Both players had a bad relationship with management

Tensions had been simmering for Parsons and Jones for months amid unproductive contract extension negotiations, but reached a boil at the start of August when Parsons announced he was requesting a trade.

Few expected the Cowboys to actually do it. And yet, looking back on how it all played out, maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Jones was airing his grievances on a near-daily basis at Cowboys training camp and eventually reached the point where he was complaining how involved Parsons’ agent David Mulugheta (who seems to be coming out of this quite well) was in the process.

Whenever an owner and GM is starting to float just how unhelpful a player’s agent is, you know things are going badly. Jones seem fixated on getting the Parsons camp to honor an alleged handshake deal he made with Parsons in a 1-on-1 meeting in March, refusing to accept that Mulugheta, the guy Parsons hired to negotiate this exact deal, said no. None of this endeared him to Parsons, who wiped the Cowboys from his social media channels in response.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Meanwhile, it has since come out that Dončić and Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye. Yes, the Slovenian was the marquee player, but he and Harrison reportedly clashed over the executive’s handling of the Mavericks training staff, Dončić’s timeline to return from an injury and his conditioning in general.

Harrison eventually decided that his best path to success was trading Dončić for an established talent in Anthony Davis. It remains to be seen how that will work out for him, though he got a huge boost by winning the Cooper Flagg lottery.

Different: How publicly the drama played out

When we say the Dončić trade might have been the most shocking trade ever, we mean it. No one saw the move coming, from the casual fans to the minority owner of the team. As far as almost everyone knew, Dončić was happy in Dallas and a lock to sign a supermax extension in a year or two. Instead, he was sent west in the dead of night.

Comparatively, the only surprise with Parsons is that Jones actually granted the trade request after insisting that his heels were dug in. Jones has been in these situations before and come out with a contract, just usually more expensive than it needed to be.

We knew it was bad. The trade just served as confirmation.

The public nature of the dispute also meant Jones got to talk with any suitor interested in his disgruntled star. Harrison, however, caught plenty of flak for seemingly only speaking with the Lakers and not even trying to start a bidding war for a player who could have commanded a king’s ransom.

Similar: Neither Dallas team got mindblowing returns

For Dončić, the Mavericks got Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, while also sending out the negligibly valuable Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris.

For Parsons, the Cowboys got two first-round picks and defensive lineman Kenny Clark, who is a solid run-stopper but was also looming as a possible cut candidate next offseason.

When you trade away a superstar in their prime, the fanbase is going to expect a return that at least makes the other team’s fanbase uncomfortable. Try and find a Lakers or Packers fan who is second-guessing the moves right now.

Different: The Mavericks had just reached an NBA Finals, the Cowboys… didn’t

What made the Dončić trade so unbelievable, in both the moment and the aftermath, was that Harrison looked at his superstar and decided the team was more likely to win a championship without him, about eight months after Dončić led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics.

The Cowboys would love to get that far. They haven’t, for quite some time. The team still hasn’t even reached the NFC championship game since its last Super Bowl title in 1996.

The two teams are in somewhat different places right now, but seemed to both take a bizarre route to relevance with their big trades. The Mavericks blew up a core that just reached the Finals to win now, adding the 32-year-old Davis rather than seeing what they could keep doing with the 26-year-old Dončić. The Cowboys traded their best player at a time when they should theoretically be contending and basically got picks and a decent veteran for him.

Accordingly…

Similar: Both fanbases are livid

We really don’t need to explain much here. The list of Dallas fans who are happy they will no longer be watching Dončić and Parsons is going to be vanishingly short. Even shorter will be the fans happy that Harrison has consolidated his power and Jones didn’t have to cave at the negotiating table with his best draft pick of a generation.

Different: Micah Parsons financially benefited from this, Luka Dončić did not

The Parsons trade was simultaneously reported with the news that the Packers were giving him a four-year, $188 million contract with $136 million fully guaranteed. It is easily the largest contract in the history of NFL players who do not play quarterback.

The Lakers, meanwhile, were unable to speak with Dončić about an extension due to the clandestine nature of the talks, so much so the Mavericks reportedly had to lower their price. That ended up not mattering much thanks to the limited nature of NBA contracts, as Dončić signed a three-year, $165 million extension in August.

The trade cost Dončić plenty of money, though, as it made him no longer eligible for a supermax contract. Had he remained in Dallas, he could have signed a five-year, $346 million deal this offseason.

Similar: Both players could be inner-circle Hall of Famers

It really needs to be said. Dončić and Parsons aren’t just stars, they are foundational pieces that come along very rarely.

Dončić opened his NBA career with five straight first-team All-NBA selections. Parsons opened his career with four straight Pro Bowl selections and would have been a four-time first-team All-Pro if he stayed healthy. Dončić is a generational scoring engine who only needs a competent supporting cast to produce an elite offense. Parsons is an elite pass-rusher who can also drop back into coverage and ruin a run play.

Replacing them on a one-to-one basis is next to impossible. Both teams will hope they can do it in the aggregate.

Different: The immediate reactions of the players

Almost immediately after the trade was reported, Parsons had this ready to go, as well as a lengthy statement saying goodbye to Cowboys fans.

That is a man ready to leave Dallas.

Dončić had no such advance warning. He did not request a trade and by all accounts expected to play his entire career in Dallas. His reaction came out in a trickle, though his father was angry enough we could probably guess how unhappy Luka was behind closed doors.

In the year 2025, Dallas saw Micah Parsons and Luka Dončić, two future Hall of Fame talents, leave town at the ripe age of 26. And not just leave town, but escorted out via trade.

On Feb. 2, Dončić was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers in arguably the most shocking trade in NBA history. And on Thursday, Parsons was dealt to the Green Bay Packers after a month of bad blood with team owner Jerry Jones.

It doesn’t matter how justifiable a move was from a front-office perspective, how badly some relationships had deteriorated. That’s going to hurt for any fanbase that had been planning to watch those superstars lead their team for another decade.

Of course, despite the nearly identical broad strokes, there are some key differences to what could go down as the two most infamous trades in Dallas history. Let’s break down all the similarities and differences in a painful year for North Texas.

Similar: Both players had a bad relationship with management

Tensions had been simmering for Parsons and Jones for months amid unproductive contract extension negotiations, but reached a boil at the start of August when Parsons announced he was requesting a trade.

Few expected the Cowboys to actually do it. And yet, looking back on how it all played out, maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Jones was airing his grievances on a near-daily basis at Cowboys training camp and eventually reached the point where he was complaining how involved Parsons’ agent David Mulugheta (who seems to be coming out of this quite well) was in the process.

Whenever an owner and GM is starting to float just how unhelpful a player’s agent is, you know things are going badly. Jones seem fixated on getting the Parsons camp to honor an alleged handshake deal he made with Parsons in a 1-on-1 meeting in March, refusing to accept that Mulugheta, the guy Parsons hired to negotiate this exact deal, said no. None of this endeared him to Parsons, who wiped the Cowboys from his social media channels in response.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Meanwhile, it has since come out that Dončić and Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye. Yes, the Slovenian was the marquee player, but he and Harrison reportedly clashed over the executive’s handling of the Mavericks training staff, Dončić’s timeline to return from an injury and his conditioning in general.

Harrison eventually decided that his best path to success was trading Dončić for an established talent in Anthony Davis. It remains to be seen how that will work out for him, though he got a huge boost by winning the Cooper Flagg lottery.

Different: How publicly the drama played out

When we say the Dončić trade might have been the most shocking trade ever, we mean it. No one saw the move coming, from the casual fans to the minority owner of the team. As far as almost everyone knew, Dončić was happy in Dallas and a lock to sign a supermax extension in a year or two. Instead, he was sent west in the dead of night.

Comparatively, the only surprise with Parsons is that Jones actually granted the trade request after insisting that his heels were dug in. Jones has been in these situations before and come out with a contract, just usually more expensive than it needed to be.

We knew it was bad. The trade just served as confirmation.

The public nature of the dispute also meant Jones got to talk with any suitor interested in his disgruntled star. Harrison, however, caught plenty of flak for seemingly only speaking with the Lakers and not even trying to start a bidding war for a player who could have commanded a king’s ransom.

Similar: Neither Dallas team got mindblowing returns

For Dončić, the Mavericks got Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, while also sending out the negligibly valuable Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris.

For Parsons, the Cowboys got two first-round picks and defensive lineman Kenny Clark, who is a solid run-stopper but was also looming as a possible cut candidate next offseason.

When you trade away a superstar in their prime, the fanbase is going to expect a return that at least makes the other team’s fanbase uncomfortable. Try and find a Lakers or Packers fan who is second-guessing the moves right now.

Different: The Mavericks had just reached an NBA Finals, the Cowboys… didn’t

What made the Dončić trade so unbelievable, in both the moment and the aftermath, was that Harrison looked at his superstar and decided the team was more likely to win a championship without him, about eight months after Dončić led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics.

The Cowboys would love to get that far. They haven’t, for quite some time. The team still hasn’t even reached the NFC championship game since its last Super Bowl title in 1996.

The two teams are in somewhat different places right now, but seemed to both take a bizarre route to relevance with their big trades. The Mavericks blew up a core that just reached the Finals to win now, adding the 32-year-old Davis rather than seeing what they could keep doing with the 26-year-old Dončić. The Cowboys traded their best player at a time when they should theoretically be contending and basically got picks and a decent veteran for him.

Accordingly…

Similar: Both fanbases are livid

We really don’t need to explain much here. The list of Dallas fans who are happy they will no longer be watching Dončić and Parsons is going to be vanishingly short. Even shorter will be the fans happy that Harrison has consolidated his power and Jones didn’t have to cave at the negotiating table with his best draft pick of a generation.

Different: Micah Parsons financially benefited from this, Luka Dončić did not

The Parsons trade was simultaneously reported with the news that the Packers were giving him a four-year, $188 million contract with $136 million fully guaranteed. It is easily the largest contract in the history of NFL players who do not play quarterback.

The Lakers, meanwhile, were unable to speak with Dončić about an extension due to the clandestine nature of the talks, so much so the Mavericks reportedly had to lower their price. That ended up not mattering much thanks to the limited nature of NBA contracts, as Dončić signed a three-year, $165 million extension in August.

The trade cost Dončić plenty of money, though, as it made him no longer eligible for a supermax contract. Had he remained in Dallas, he could have signed a five-year, $346 million deal this offseason.

Similar: Both players could be inner-circle Hall of Famers

It really needs to be said. Dončić and Parsons aren’t just stars, they are foundational pieces that come along very rarely.

Dončić opened his NBA career with five straight first-team All-NBA selections. Parsons opened his career with four straight Pro Bowl selections and would have been a four-time first-team All-Pro if he stayed healthy. Dončić is a generational scoring engine who only needs a competent supporting cast to produce an elite offense. Parsons is an elite pass-rusher who can also drop back into coverage and ruin a run play.

Replacing them on a one-to-one basis is next to impossible. Both teams will hope they can do it in the aggregate.

Different: The immediate reactions of the players

Almost immediately after the trade was reported, Parsons had this ready to go, as well as a lengthy statement saying goodbye to Cowboys fans.

That is a man ready to leave Dallas.

Dončić had no such advance warning. He did not request a trade and by all accounts expected to play his entire career in Dallas. His reaction came out in a trickle, though his father was angry enough we could probably guess how unhappy Luka was behind closed doors.

Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga will not pitch for the rest of the season due to right flexor strain, manager Aaron Boone announced ahead of Thursday’s series opener against the Chicago White Sox.

The right-handed veteran underwent tests last week after reporting soreness in his right elbow/triceps area, and the injury will end his season. However, as of now, the team is hopeful he will not need any surgery or procedure. The Yanks hold a club option for the 2026 season for the 30-year-old.

Loáisiga’s arm issue came two days after he began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while dealing with back stiffness that sent him to the IL on Aug. 3. 

Injuries have been a big issue for the righty of late, as the same injury limited him to just three games during the 2024 season. An elbow procedure this past March kept him out of action this year until May, and the back issue landed him on the IL earlier this month.

In all, he made 30 appearances out of the Yanks’ bullpen this season and pitched to a 4.25 ERA and 1.483 WHIP, surrendering 15 runs (14 earned) on 34 hits and 10 walks with 25 strikeouts. 

Ryan Yarbrough out of the bullpen

Yarbrough, who has been out since mid-June with a right oblique issue, is set to return to the active roster, and the plan is to use the left-hander out of the bullpen, Boone said Thursday.

In his last outing at Triple-A, he pitched 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk with six strikeouts. In three appearances with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Yarbrough has pitched to a 4.09 ERA and 0.909 WHIP with 12 strikeouts in 11 innings.

The 33-year-old made 16 appearances (eight starts), pitching to a 3.90 ERA and 1.175 WHIP in 55.1 innings with 49 strikeouts to 17 walks at the big-league level this season. Opponent batters have had slightly better luck against him when he came on in relief, as Yarbrough’s allowed a .720 OPS in 65 plate appearances out of the bullpen, compared to a .691 OPS in 161 times up as the starter.

Chicago native Pope Leo XIV is being honored Thursday by the Kane County Cougars, an independent baseball team a couple of hours outside of the city, with his own bobblehead night. 

The first 1,500 patrons to Northwestern Medicine Field will receive a Pope Leo XIV bobblehead prior to Thursday’s game against the Southshore RailCats in Geneva, Illinois.

“We wanted to commemorate the pope. It’s really exciting for the whole Chicago area,” explained Claire Jacobi, the Kane County Cougars promotions director. “He’s a large baseball fan, so we wanted to be fun and creative, and we hope the fans will love it. Hopefully, we can make him a Cougars fan someday as well.” 

Pope Leo, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, was a huge baseball fan growing up on the South Side of Chicago, reportedly rooting for the White Sox. Pope Leo was seen earlier this summer supporting his team by wearing a White Sox cap at the Vatican.

“It’s pretty cool,” White Sox rookie pitcher Grant Taylor expressed. “Worldwide, baseball is growing a lot more. But in Europe, it’s not very big. So if he’s over there in the Vatican wearing a White Sox hat, maybe all of them will become White Sox fans. Grow the fanbase a little bit.” 

The White Sox currently sit dead last in the AL Central, holding the second-worst record in the league at 48-85 — ahead of only the Colorado Rockies, who have already been eliminated from playoff contention. 

The Cougars hold a 45-50 record in the American Association League, currently sitting in third place in the East Division, 7.5 games back from the Lake County DockHounds.

Chicago native Pope Leo XIV is being honored Thursday by the Kane County Cougars, an independent baseball team a couple of hours outside of the city, with his own bobblehead night. 

The first 1,500 patrons to Northwestern Medicine Field will receive a Pope Leo XIV bobblehead prior to Thursday’s game against the Southshore RailCats in Geneva, Illinois.

“We wanted to commemorate the pope. It’s really exciting for the whole Chicago area,” explained Claire Jacobi, the Kane County Cougars promotions director. “He’s a large baseball fan, so we wanted to be fun and creative, and we hope the fans will love it. Hopefully, we can make him a Cougars fan someday as well.” 

Pope Leo, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, was a huge baseball fan growing up on the South Side of Chicago, reportedly rooting for the White Sox. Pope Leo was seen earlier this summer supporting his team by wearing a White Sox cap at the Vatican.

“It’s pretty cool,” White Sox rookie pitcher Grant Taylor expressed. “Worldwide, baseball is growing a lot more. But in Europe, it’s not very big. So if he’s over there in the Vatican wearing a White Sox hat, maybe all of them will become White Sox fans. Grow the fanbase a little bit.” 

The White Sox currently sit dead last in the AL Central, holding the second-worst record in the league at 48-85 — ahead of only the Colorado Rockies, who have already been eliminated from playoff contention. 

The Cougars hold a 45-50 record in the American Association League, currently sitting in third place in the East Division, 7.5 games back from the Lake County DockHounds.

ESPN announced some changes Thursday for its NBA broadcast teams going into the 2025-26 season — among them, a promotion for Tim Legler and a contract extension (but also a demotion) for Doris Burke.

Legler will join the network’s lead NBA crew, which also includes play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, fellow analyst Richard Jefferson and reporter Lisa Salters.

That team will call the 2026 NBA Finals on ABC, as well as the conference finals, several first- and second-round playoff games, a Christmas Day game and NBA Saturday Primetime games on ABC.

Legler is a former NBA journeyman who won the league’s three-point shooting contest during the 1996 All-Star festivities. He retired as a player in 2000 and joined ESPN as an analyst the same year.

Read more:‘Stupid idea’? Charles Barkley says ‘Inside the NBA’ hosts may have another show on TNT

ESPN did not provide details on Burke’s contract extension, other than to say it is for multiple years. According to a press release, Burke will call “full slates of games throughout the regular season and the NBA playoffs” on ESPN and ABC with play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch.

Burke has been with ESPN since 1991 and joined the network’s lead NBA broadcast team in 2023. When she called the 2024 NBA Finals, she became the first woman to serve as a TV game analyst for a championship-round game in one of the four major professional U.S. men’s sports leagues.

In 2018, Burke received the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Curt Gowdy Media Award for outstanding contributions to basketball.

Read more:Plaschke: ‘It’s over.’ Bidding farewell to ESPN’s ‘Around the Horn’ with gratitude

The news that Burke’s future with the lead NBA team was up in the air was first reported by The Athletic in June ahead of the 2025 Finals. Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle spoke in support of Burke during his news conference before Game 1.

“She’s changed the game for women in broadcasting,” Carlisle said. “Doris is a great example of courage and putting herself out there.”

Also on Thursday, ESPN announced a multi-year extension for Jefferson, who has been with the network since 2019 and called his first NBA Finals this year.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.