Whether you’re in the thick of a fantasy basketball playoff battle or about to start, the game always throws that injured player variable to make your life more difficult. Do you hold? Do you say good riddance? The fantasy basketball playoff stretch is brutal, and nothing makes it worse than staring at an IL slot, wondering if your guy is ever coming back. Let’s talk through some of the top names filling your IL spots.

Jayson Tatum, SF/PF – Boston Celtics

I’ll be the first to admit it: I was wrong. I didn’t think Tatum was worth the pickup and Boston just threw him in there playing 27 minutes in each of the last three games. And here he is, stuffing the stat sheet despite not shooting great and still rounding back into game shape. Congrats if you have Tatum. Oh, and the Celtics have zero back-to-backs the rest of the fantasy playoffs. That’s huge. Keep riding.

LeBron James, SF/PF – Los Angeles Lakers

James has missed his last four games with foot and hip injuries. To be fair, he’s 41 and still playing at a high level. He’s listed as questionable for Thursday, but I expect him back by the weekend. With so much offense going through Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, there’s no point in chasing some replacement-level guy for James, because he doesn’t exist.

Stephen Curry, PG/SG –Golden State Warriors

Curry has missed a lot of time due to patellofemoral pain syndrome and a bone bruise in his right knee. Recent reports say he’s still not practicing with contact and will likely miss at least 10 more days from Wednesday. If you’ve been holding onto him, your time is running out. It’s time to make backup plans and continue to hold De’Anthony Melton.

Joel Embiid, C – Philadelphia 76ers

Embiid was ruled out for another week, but with Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre both looking at minimum three-week absences, what exactly is Philly running out there? The 76ers’ situation gets worse by the day.

I’m still holding Embiid, but a drop is likely coming in the near future. Adem Bona isn’t the answer — in deeper leagues, give Trendon Watford a shot before you write the whole situation off.

Tyrese Maxey, PG/SG – Philadelphia 76ers

Maxey has a tendon injury in his right pinkie and will be re-evaluated in about three weeks. Drop him. There isn’t enough regular season left to keep him on your roster or in an IL spot. Pick up Cameron Payne, who will take on a bigger role in the backcourt.

Jalen Williams, SF/PF – Oklahoma City Thunder

There’s no timetable for Williams’ return, plus OKC isn’t sharing any updates, and honestly, it makes sense — the Thunder want to keep him healthy for the playoffs. Fantasy managers don’t have that luxury, though. Move on, because at this rate, he’s not helping in your road to a championship.

Ja Morant, PG – Memphis Grizzlies

I’ve been saying Ja’s not coming back for a while now. Marc J. Spears reported that Morant will miss at least the next two weeks, providing further evidence that he’s likely done for the season, and in Memphis altogether. It’s messy between Ty Jerome, Scotty Pippen Jr., Cam Spencer and Javon Small, but piece it together based on your schedule and matchups.

Norman Powell, SG/SF – Miami Heat

Powell hasn’t played since Feb. 26 and keeps getting ruled out ahead of game days. The “week-to-week” timeline is holding, but it would be great to get a meaningful update. I’m running out of patience, and you should be, too. The Heat’s 3-4-3 playoff schedule doesn’t look too appealing, knowing that they’ll be playing on the biggest slates until Week 23.

Anthony Davis, PF/C – Washington Wizards

Don’t bite. AD hasn’t been ruled out for the season and a re-evaluation is reportedly coming soon. But don’t bite.

There’s not enough time left when you factor in potential minute restrictions and rest days, but the risk isn’t worth the reward. This isn’t a Tatum situation. The Wizards are one of the worst teams in basketball and are far too volatile to trust streaming anyone from their frontcourt — let alone a fragile AD.

[Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season]

Jarrett Allen, C – Cleveland Cavaliers

Allen’s knee injury feels more day-to-day than looking at a prolonged absence. Don’t drop him yet — especially if your playoffs are ongoing or about to start. Give it another few days before you make any moves.

Ivica Zubac, C – Indiana Pacers

Zu is on the verge of returning, as he was upgraded to questionable ahead of Thursday vs. the Suns. Could he see real minutes down the stretch for a Pacers team that’s tanking but also wants to evaluate what they got from the Clippers? We shall see, but I’m skeptical that he’ll be a top-100 type guy. His return would eat into Micah Potter more than Jay Huff — I’d still hold Huff either way. This doesn’t smell like a reasonable time to play Zu crazy minutes.

Isaiah Hartenstein – C, Oklahoma City Thunder

Calf injuries are concerning. Recurring calf injuries are even more detrimental. Calves are not something to play with. That’s why I’m getting out of the Hartenstein business. Injuries and surprise absences are commonplace late in the season, so freeing up any space for someone who’s playing and being productive is a wise move if you’re in survival mode.

Keyonte George – PG/SG – Utah Jazz

I think it’s a wrap, folks. George injured his hamstring in Wednesday’s game against the Knicks and did not return. If, for some reason, Isaiah Collier was dropped in your league, pick him up because with George likely out, he’s going to be one of the best assist generators in the league.

As a guy who’s had a lot of George shares, it’s a disappointing ending, but at the same time, every other starter for the Jazz has been shelved — so I guess it was inevitable?

It’s important to examine league-wide and team-level data and trends before digging into player analysis for fantasy baseball. That’s partly because of the recent rule changes, specifically regarding stolen bases and automated balls and strikes. Pitch velocity, stuff, exit velocity and bat speed have been the focus of most in the fantasy baseball space because it tends to lead toward positive outcomes.

[Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season]

We’ll start with a few surface-level advanced stats across the league before examining team-level stolen base, starting pitcher and velocity band information to help inform us for 2026 fantasy baseball leagues. 

Batting Average

From 2021 to 2025, the league-wide batting average has been under .250. It goes both ways, but there’s value in having hitters with higher batting averages. Meanwhile, it may not be as devastating to have a hitter with a batting average around .240. Unsurprisingly, when batting average rises and falls, batting average on balls in play (BABIP) does too. We’ve seen the league-wide zone contact rate increase to 86% in 2025, with the overall contact rate at 76.9%. That’s the highest zone contact rate since 2016 and the best contact rate since 2018. 

Exit Velocities and More

Generally speaking, hitters had the highest hard-hit percentage at 41% in 2025, in the Statcast era. For context, they’ve been tracking hard-hit percentage (percent of batted balls 95 mph or higher) since 2015. Unsurprisingly, hitters boasted the highest barrel per plate appearance rate (5.9%) in 2025 throughout the Statcast era, with it being at 5.3% (2024) and 5.5% (2023) over the previous two seasons. 

Launch angles have been gradually rising to 13-14% over the past handful of seasons. And speaking of launch angles, we’ve seen the highest average exit velocity on flyballs and line drives (93.3 mph), hard-hit percentage (50.2%) and barrel rate (17%) in 2025 throughout the Statcast era. Theoretically, home runs should be more plentiful throughout fantasy baseball drafts, especially in the later rounds when the batting average risk increases.

The visual above shows the hitters sorted by average exit velocity on flyballs and line drives (EV on FB/LD), including launch angle, Exit Velocity 50 (EV50), sweet spot percentage and barrel per plate appearance rate. Baseball Savant defines EV50 as the hardest 50% of a hitter’s batted ball events. Potential sleeper hitters from a power standpoint include Jo Adell, Byron Buxton, Colson Montgomery, Matt Chapman, Seiya Suzuki, Matt Wallner, George Springer, Jac Caglianone, Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu.

Stolen Bases and Attempts 

There have been more stolen bases in recent seasons with the new stolen base rules, as we discussed in a previous article. In 2023, 20 teams stole 100 or more bases. The number of teams with 100 stolen bases dropped to 18 in 2024 and bounced back to 22 teams in 2025. Five teams never reached 100 stolen bases from 2023 to 2025, including the White Sox, Rockies, Tigers, Giants and Blue Jays. It might be related to the players on the team with stolen base juice or the manager’s philosophy, though there’s likely a mix of both. 

On the flip side, 14 teams stole 100 or more bases in three consecutive seasons. That list includes the Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Cubs, Reds, Guardians, Royals, Brewers, Mets, Phillies, Pirates, Padres, Mariners, Rays and Nationals. There’s a good chance these teams will run at a high rate again in 2026, giving us some confidence in players who showed stolen-base upside in their profiles. Opportunity matters, so let’s look at the teams with 100 or more stolen base attempts in 2025 compared to 2024, as seen below:

Unfortunately, the Angels, Giants and Rangers lacked the stolen base output in 2025, so they might be the outliers on that list. On the flip side, four teams saw their stolen base opportunities decline by 95 or more in 2025 compared to 2024. That list includes the Diamondbacks, Athletics, Mets, and Yankees. Thankfully, all four teams stole 100 or more bases, with the Athletics seeming like a 2025 outlier to watch, as seen below:

The more actionable list might be the teams that ran often and stole plenty of bases throughout the past few seasons, especially if they have a consistent manager. According to ATC projections, 21 hitters are projected for 20 home runs and 20 steals. The notable hitters going outside the top 50 in average draft position (ADP) include Luis Robert Jr., Oneil Cruz, Randy Arozarena and Trevor Story.

Hitters that don’t project for 20/20 but could push for it in 2026 include Brice Turang, Trea Turner, Dylan Crews and Jarren Duran. 

Stolen bases can be found more easily during drafts and on the waiver wire, but that means the floor and ceiling have been elevated, so don’t ignore the category. 

Starting Pitcher Stuff

The league-wide starting pitcher ERA was at 4.21 in 2025 and 4.15 in 2024. It’s been somewhat of a roller coaster ride for league-wide ERA since it dropped from 4.45 in 2023, with a low season in 2022 (4.05), yet mostly above 4.34 from 2019 to 2021. While velocity has gradually increased throughout the league-wide data, starting pitchers’ swinging-strike rate consistently hovered around 10.6% to 11% from 2019 to 2025. 

Meanwhile, starting pitchers’ Stuff+ (98-99) and Location+ (101) have remained consistent from 2020 to 2025, when the Stuff models were on FanGraphs. That aligns with the overall swinging-strike rates being relatively stable throughout recent seasons. Interestingly, seven teams saw an increase in their Stuff+ by 1.5 points or more in 2025 compared to 2024. That includes the Athletics, Guardians, Rockies (say what?!), Tigers, Marlins, Mets and Rangers, as seen below.

We have six teams that lost 1.5 or more points in Stuff+ in 2025 compared to 2024, including the Braves, Orioles, Royals, Angels, Mariners, Blue Jays and Nationals. The Mariners might be the most surprising team since they typically had above-average grades in Stuff+ while locating and commanding their pitches well. Besides the Mariners, Braves and Orioles flashed a Stuff+ above 100 in 2024, potentially suggesting their starting pitchers’ stuff declined in 2025. Or there’s a chance those numbers regress in favor of their starting pitchers in 2026 based on health and pitch-level adjustments.

Starting Pitcher Innings Per Game Started 

Nine teams averaged five or fewer innings per game started in 2025, including the Athletics, Tigers, Marlins, Brewers, Twins, Mets, Rockies, Dodgers and White Sox. The Brewers, Mets, Tigers and Dodgers have better team contexts than the others, which might suggest their starting rotations lack depth. Usually, we see the Rays toward the bottom, but they tied for seventh with 5.3 innings per game started.

Meanwhile, in 2024, eight teams averaged five or fewer innings per start, including the Guardians, Rays, Dodgers, Brewers, Giants, Marlins, White Sox and Tigers. The Tigers, Brewers, Dodgers, Marlins and White Sox show up again, suggesting this might be a trend to monitor beyond their SP1 or SP2 in their real-life rotation. The Athletics, Tigers, Dodgers, Marlins, Rays, Rockies and Giants were repeats in 2023, among the 11 teams logging five or fewer innings per game started. The five other teams were the Pirates, Red Sox, Royals and Reds. 

It hints at being cautious with investing in Dodgers’ starting pitchers beyond Yoshinobu Yamamoto, though Emmet Sheehan deserves breakout appeal. Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell will have their innings limited. Maybe there’s value in looking for middle-relief options like Justin Wrobleski and Ben Casparius. 

On the flip side, the league average for innings per game started was 5.2 in 2025, so here’s a look at the 14 teams averaging 5.3 innings per game started. That list includes the Diamondbacks, Braves, Red Sox, Cubs, Reds, Guardians, Astros, Royals, Yankees, Phillies, Mariners, Cardinals, Rays and Rangers. When we filter by the past two seasons, the starting pitchers for the Braves, Cubs, Astros, Royals, Yankees, Phillies, Mariners and Cardinals have been going deeper into games than the average pitcher.

Targeting most of the Mariners’ starting pitchers makes sense based on their track record and skill, though there were recent injury issues for Bryan Woo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller. The Cubs have boring veterans like Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd, who still possess above-average skills, though they might fare better in leagues with quality starts part of their scoring settings. 

This doesn’t mean we should fade or target these teams that averaged more or fewer innings or pitches per game started. However, it provides context for potential inning projections and expectations from a volume standpoint. The other piece that isn’t quantified here involves the quality of the innings pitched since we didn’t include outcomes. 

I’ve probably written or posted about the following starting pitchers, but still, proactive targets on some of the teams mentioned include Chris Sale, Ranger Suárez, Sonny Gray, Chase Burns, Nick Lodolo, Joey Cantillo, Hunter Brown, Mike Burrows, Kris Bubic, Max Fried, Ryan Weathers, Kirby, Gilbert, Luis Castillo, Ryan Pepiot, Jacob deGrom, MacKenzie Gore and Jack Leiter.

Pitcher Velocity Bands

After hearing about Jacob deGrom backing off his velocity last season and Spencer Strider working on pitch shapes in Spring Training, it led to digging into the percentage of pitches thrown at different velocity bands. The league average for pitches thrown at 94-97 mph was 16.1% in 2025. Meanwhile, the league-average for pitches thrown 97-100 mph in 2025 was 7.8%, the highest among the past three seasons (2023-2025). It’s a small sample, but we saw pitchers throwing the highest percentage of 100+ mph pitches (2.4%) in 2025. 

This data is notable because pitchers who averaged over 15% of their pitches in the 97-100 mph range might have increased injury risk, like Hunter Greene, who will be out until July at the earliest due to bone chips in his elbow. We had 15 pitchers who averaged 15% or more pitches at 97-100 mph, including many with injury concerns. That list includes Sandy Alcantara, Dylan Cease, Gerrit Cole, Garrett Crochet, Greene, Dustin May, Shane McClanahan, Bobby Miller, Mason Miller, Shohei Ohtani, Eury Pérez, Grayson Rodriguez, Tarik Skubal, Spencer Strider and Gavin Williams.

Besides Greene, Alcantara, Bobby Miller and Pérez averaged 30% or more of their pitches at 97-100 mph. Alcantara and Pérez missed 2024, while Miller missed 2025. Greene consistently threw pitches over 100 mph (16.9%), with Ohtani, Pérez and Skubal averaging over 1% of their pitches at 100 mph or more in 2025. 

Among this list, we saw Strider and Crochet live significantly more often within the 94-97 mph range. However, Williams and Skubal saw a steep drop in the percentage points of pitches at 94-97 mph. Can pitchers like Strider and Brandon Woodruff find success with a significantly lower velocity in 2026? There’s a chance, but their draft prices tend to be relatively high, making them medium to high risks with moderate rewards if they struggle or miss time.

MIAMI — Before the revelry, before the madness, before the three-hour, ear-splitting baseball rager that was the Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Juan Soto met up in the outfield to say hi.

At that point, just a few minutes before first pitch, the stands were almost entirely filled. Many of the 36,230 rum-soaked patrons had already commenced their thunderdome of noise. Flags billowed throughout the crowd like a grove of Caribbean palm trees. Beneath this concert of anticipation, the two best players in the building convened for a round of pleasantries.

[Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season]

Soto and Acuña have been linked for a while now.

The two superstars debuted in 2018, finishing first (Acuña) and second (Soto) in Rookie of the Year voting. Until Soto was dealt to San Diego at the 2022 trade deadline, they played in the same division. That’s true again with Soto stationed in Queens. They are friends, compatriots, counterparts.

As the pair chatted, both removed their caps and handed them to the other for a deeper investigation. After a beat, the two exchanged the lids back once Acuña lunged forward to jokingly place his Venezuela cap on Soto’s head. For a moment, it balanced atop Soto’s black durag, Acuña’s blue hat matching perfectly with Soto’s similarly tinted Republica Dominicana jersey. The Mets outfielder recoiled playfully, tossing the cap back to his buddy. The two laughed, dapped each other up and continued stretching.

That moment was a microcosm of the evening, which was a joyful Latin American baseball celebration of the highest order. 

For the past few decades, these two countries have ranked second and third behind the United States in MLB players produced. They are the game’s dominant forces, culturally and in terms of player development, in Latin America. For both, baseball is the national sport and much more. It is a way of life and a way of living, and the mega-stars produced by each nation are an omnipresent source of communal pride.

That pride was on full display Wednesday as the Dominican topped Venezuela by a score of 7-5, securing a first-place finish in Pool D. An early long-ball barrage from the star-studded Dominican lineup set the tone. The entire top four in the batting order went deep across the first four innings, with each blast propelling a wave of giddy countrymen out of the dugout and onto the diamond with childlike glee.

Fernando Tatis Jr.’s three-run blast in the fourth gave Team D.R. a cushion to coast through the relatively mundane middle innings. Venezuela made it close with a goosebump ninth inning that included three straight walks and a throwing error from reliever Elvis Alvarado, but couldn’t get the clutch swing it needed.

And while the play on the field from both sides was impressive, the celebrations were on another level entirely.

Soto nearly flipped his bat off the loanDepot Park roof after his first-inning jack. Junior Caminero and Julio Rodriguez do-si-do’ed near the on-deck circle as Ketel Marte rounded the bases in the third. Tatis carried Geraldo Perdomo back to the dugout on his shoulders following Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s blast two batters later.

Every single player in the Dominican dugout flooded onto the field to celebrate every single big fly. And, of course, all four homers were met with the team’s flag-themed leather jacket, an oversized D.R. logo chain and a mimed group selfie on home plate.

It was baseball unencumbered.

Both clubs entered the showdown with undefeated records and a spot in the knockout round clinched, meaning the stakes were decidedly lower than they could’ve been. But that didn’t sap any energy out of the crowd. In fact, it seemed to relax it, as both fan bases knew their team’s tournament run would continue beyond the evening. There was tension, but it wasn’t the type you get from an elimination game or even a typical pool play game.

As Venezuelan fans trudged home, their team defeated, it was hard to believe that any of them had a crummy time. That’s because the atmosphere itself — an intoxicating and intoxicated red-and-blue tornado of horned instruments, gyrating hips and Latin spirit — was the main attraction. It was about community and two separate communities acting as one community.

Kumbaya sentiments acknowledged, Venezuela’s loss will not go unpunished. By finishing second in the group, the Venezuelans were handed a quarterfinal matchup with the defending champions, Samurai Japan, on Saturday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, one of the best hurlers on the planet, is set to start that game for Japan. And while Venezuela certainly has the offensive firepower to coax an upset, the task ahead of them is daunting.

“We were able to compete today,” Venezuela manager Omar López said postgame. “We tried to minimize the harm from the very beginning, and we fought throughout the game, and the same is going to happen against Japan. We cannot think that we are going to be defeated.

“No, we are going to win that game.”

The Dominican Republic, meanwhile, looks like an unstoppable freight train. Before the game Wednesday, D.R. skipper Albert Pujols was asked if he had any concerns about his lineup, considering it had faced just one MLB-level pitcher thus far in the tournament. 

Pujols, offering a wry smile, replied: “I think our offense can hit against anybody.”

That proved extraordinarily true against Venezuela.

Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić has separated from his fiancée, he revealed to ESPN on Tuesday. Sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports that he is now in a custody battle over their two daughters, too.

TMZ reported on Tuesday that Dončić’s ex-fiancée, Anamaria Goltez, filed a petition seeking child support and attorney fees from Dončić after their separation. That petition, according to ESPN, was filed in California — though Dončić said he had “no idea” that it was even filed. 

“I love my daughters more than anything and I’ve been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the U.S. during the season, but that hasn’t been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement,” Dončić said in a statement. “Everything I do is for my daughters’ happiness and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can.”

Dončić and Goltez had been dating since 2016. He first proposed to her in July 2023, and they welcomed their first daughter, Gabriela, later that year. The couple’s second child, Olivia, was then born in December in Slovenia. 

Dončić took time away from the Lakers this season to be in Slovenia for the birth of his second daughter. While he was there in December, according to ESPN, Dončić wanted to bring Gabriela back to the United States with him as he was rejoining the Lakers. A disagreement then broke out between Dončić and Goltez, and police were called to the hospital. Officers “did not detect any elements of a criminal offense or misdemeanor” by Dončić during that incident. He left peacefully and flew back to the United States later that day. 

Dončić has not seen Goltez or either of his daughters since. He’s seen his daughters for only two days since arriving in Los Angeles for Lakers training camp in late September. Goltez has since wiped Dončić from her Instagram, too.

Dončić did file an interim injunction seeking immediate contact with Gabriela and Olivia in Slovenian courts, according to ESPN. Further specifics of that are not yet known. 

“I don’t even know how to describe it. It was a lot,” Dončić said of the trip to Slovenia in December, via ESPN. “I was there for the birth of my daughter, so that means everything to me. But it was definitely a roller coaster.”

Dončić, now in his first full season with the Lakers, has averaged a league-high 32.5 points, 8.4 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game. The Lakers hold a 39-25 record entering Tuesday night’s matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The 2026 MLB season is almost here and that means you’re likely prepping for your fantasy baseball draft. One of the best ways to prepare is to do as many mock drafts as possible. Of course, sometimes it’s tough to find an accurate representation of your league settings by using the public mock draft lobby.

Not to fear! If you’re a Yahoo Fantasy+ subscriber, you have access to the Instant Mock Draft tool, allowing you to practice your draft in seconds. You can test different strategies, pick from various draft slots and experiment with roster construction as many times as you want, anytime, instantly. Now is a great time to subscribe to Yahoo Fantasy+, so you can use the wealth of tools for your draft prep

[Yahoo Fantasy+ unlocks premium draft tools, player projections and more]

In this series, we’re going to be using the Instant Mock Draft tool to pick from each of the 12 slots in a 12-team fantasy baseball league. Up next is drafting from the No. 3 overall pick. Which route do you take after Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are off the board? Let’s get into it.

More Mock Drafts

• No. 1 Pick

• No. 2 Pick

• No. 3 Pick

• No. 4 Pick

• No. 5 Pick

• No. 6 Pick

• No. 7 Pick

Note: We’re using Yahoo’s default points league settings for these mock drafts.

Full Roster

C: Shea Langeliers, Athletics
1B: Ben Rice, Yankees
2B: José Altuve, Astros
SS: Mookie Betts, Dodgers
3B: Noelvi Marte, Reds
OF: Juan Soto, Mets
OF: Jackson Chourio, Brewers
OF: Oneil Cruz, Pirates
UTIL: Colson Montgomery, White Sox
UTIL: Brendan Donovan, Mariners
SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers
SP: Cole Ragans, Royals
RP: Trevor Megill, Brewers
RP: Emilio Pagán, Reds
P: MacKenzie Gore, Rangers
P: Shota Imanaga, Cubs
P: Ryan Weathers, Yankees
P: Connelly Early, Red Sox
Bench: Yainer Díaz, Astros
Bench: Royce Lewis, Twins
Bench: Abner Uribe, Brewers
Bench: Konnor Griffin, Pirates
Bench: Gerrit Cole, Yankees

Round 1 dilemma: Once you get past Judge and Ohtani at 1-2, things can get sort of interesting, if you want them to. Scott Pianowski and Fred Zinkie like Bobby Witt Jr. at No. 3 overall. But the late, great Peewee Herman once said, “I’m a loner, Dottie, a rebel.” So we opted to select Juan Soto over Witt in the 3-hole. In my defense, the projections like Soto over Witt. The Mets slugger had a “down” year in terms of WAR, going from 7.9 with the Yanks to 6.2 in his first season at Citi Field. Soto still led the League in walks, stolen bases and OBP while belting a career-high 43 homers. He’s also still just 27 years old, so perhaps we haven’t seen Soto’s ceiling yet. I’m willing to roll the dice there and take him just a pick early.

[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2026 MLB season]

Dodgers duo: Let’s talk about the back-to-back champs because nobody does that anymore. We’ll start with Betts. He can’t be done, right? It was only two seasons ago he led the NL in WAR at 8.6 and finished second in MVP voting. I’m gonna bank on a bounce-back season for Betts. His strikeout rate has been down the past few seasons despite his power draining.

I worry a little bit about Yamamoto’s innings if L.A. opts to rotate a lot of starters to stay fresh for October. But even in 30 starts last season, Yamamoto got past 170 IP and won World Series MVP. Maybe the Dodgers allow their ace to go after an NL Cy Young next?

Catcher depth: I find myself grabbing either Langeliers or Contreras at catcher around the 6-7 rounds consistently. So we may need to break that habit and wait on catcher one of these drafts. I do like my catcher depth with the Rice pick. He should rotate in at C, 1B, OF and DH for the Yanks. Rice should also have a great lineup slot and has been mashing in spring. If Rice takes another step forward at the plate, he could break the 30-homer mark.

Priority pitching target: Gore is a pitcher I wanted to make sure I snagged in one of these mocks, a top breakout candidate for Yahoo analyst Corbin Young this season. Gore misses a lot of bats with multiple pitches and, at age 27, is finally playing some meaningful baseball with Texas. Being on a better Rangers team should lower Gore’s ERA and he should get more wins as well. He feels like a great target outside of the “SP dead zone” that could pay dividends.

Planning ahead: I’m very excited to talk about my final two picks. Both are stashes/anticipatory moves. Personally, I don’t think the Pirates keep Griffin at the start of the season, but he could get a call-up soon. That’s rarely the case for teenagers but Griffin has a bright future and Pittsburgh needs to sell tickets. For Cole, I’m cool throwing him in an IL slot and leaving that final bench spot open for streamers (both hitters and pitchers). The Yankees could have their ace back at some point this summer and that could be huge for my roster later in the year.

Takeaways with drafting No. 3: The player pool still felt pretty similar in this slot compared to picks 1 and 2. I tried to stack my OF early on so I didn’t have to worry as much about that in the later rounds and could focus on pitching and grabbing some sleepers. In the next couple of mocks, we’re going to mix up the strategies a bit more. Stay tuned!

The Washington Commanders have lost their first free agent of the offseason. Washington had until the start of the new league year, which began on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET, to tender a contract to restricted free agent Chris Rodriguez Jr. The Commanders chose not to tender Rodriguez a contract, which allowed him to sign with a new team immediately.

It didn’t take long for Rodriguez to find his new team. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed Rodriguez to a two-year contract worth $10 million on Wednesday. A sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Rodriguez spent three seasons with the Commanders, appearing in 35 games, making seven starts, rushing for 920 yards and 10 touchdowns. He averaged 4.6 yards per attempt.

Last season, as a part of Washington’s running back by committee, Rodriguez had career highs of 500 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

The Jaguars are signing former Washington RB Chris Rodriguez, Jr. to a two-year, $10 million deal with $6.2M guaranteed, per The Insiders.

Rodriguez gets $6.2M fully guaranteed and can make up to $12M with incentives on a deal done by Michael Perrett of Priority Sports. pic.twitter.com/4JMaG6vfX4

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 11, 2026

Rodriguez will reunite with Jaguars head coach Liam Coen in Jacksonville. When Rodriguez was an All-SEC running back at Kentucky, Coen was his offensive coordinator in 2021. Jacksonville lost running back Travis Etienne in free agency, and Rodriguez will join a backfield featuring Bhayshul Tuten.

As for Washington, the only running back under contract for 2026 is Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols are unrestricted free agents. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Commanders brought McNichols back for a third season. Washington must still add to the backfield, with former Buccaneers running back Rachaad White being a name to watch. The Commanders could also target Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. signs with Jaguars

Atlético-MG announced that it WILL GIVE tickets to the 10,132 fans who were at Arena MRV and watched the victory over Inter this Wednesday (11).

All of them will have a guaranteed ticket, in the same section, for Galo’s next home game, against São Paulo, next Wednesday (18).

“The initiative recognizes those who, even with rain, a difficult schedule, and after a complicated start to the week, made a point of being present to push the team to victory over Internacional,” the club explained on X.

The “complicated start to the week” mentioned by Atlético-MG probably refers to the defeat to Cruzeiro in the final of the Campeonato Mineiro.

This Wednesday’s (11) attendance of 10,132 fans represented the lowest attendance record in the history of Arena MRV – inaugurated in 2023.

So, what did you think of Galo’s board’s initiative? Leave your comment!

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Featured photo: Pedro Souza/Atlético

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

The Buffalo Bills and quarterback Josh Allen have created salary cap space by restructuring his contract.

Allen, soon 30, helped his team get under the $301.2 million 2026 NFL salary cap total ahead of the start of the new league year. The change to his deal freed up an additional $12 million in salary cap space for the Bills:

Bills restructured the contract of Josh Allen, creating $12 million of 2026 salary cap space, per @FieldYates. pic.twitter.com/G06s5rpXaX

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2026

This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills, Josh Allen restructure contract to create salary cap space

March is upon us.

Selection Sunday is fast approaching, but before bubble teams start sweating out the announcement of the brackets, they have one last chance to clinch a spot in the field.

Conference tournaments are underway, and 31 automatic bids to the NCAA tournament field are up for grabs. For those 31 teams, they can rest assured on Selection Sunday that they will hear their school called as the brackets are unveiled.

For the rest of the teams, they will be left to sweat it out as the other 36 teams are announced.

First Four games take place on March 17 and 18 in Dayton, Ohio. The First Round of the men’s NCAA tournament begins on March 19.

For a look at teams with some work to do in their respective conference tournaments, we have you covered here. We also have this great piece on why we need March Madness more than ever.

Now, here are the teams that have secured an automatic bid to the men’s NCAA tournament. This will be updated as teams clinch spots in the field. Long Island University clinched the first automatic bid on Saturday, when they advanced to the NEC Championship Game against Mercyhurst. While that title game will not take place until Monday, Mercyhurst is ineligible for the NCAA tournament, as they are still transitioning from Division II status to Division I status. The Lakers cannot receive the automatic bid even if they defeat LIU in the NEC Championship Game.

Auto bids for the 2026 men’s NCAA tournament

Here are the teams that have clinched spots in the 2026 men’s NCAA tournament:

Conference	Schedule	Automatic Bid	Location
America East	Quarterfinals: March 7 Semifinals: March 10 Championship: 11 a.m. ET March 14 on ESPN2		Higher seed hosts
American	First Round: March 11 Second Round: March 12 Quarterfinals: March 13 Semifinals: March 14 Championship: 3:15 p.m. March 15 on ESPN		Birmingham, Ala.
Atlantic 10	First Round: March 11 Second Round: March 12 Quarterfinals: March 13 Semifinals: March 14 Championship: 1 p.m. March 15 on CBS		Pittsburgh, Pa.
ACC	First Round: March 10 Second Round: March 11 Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 8:30 p.m. March 14 on ESPN		Charlotte, N.C.
ASUN	First Round: March 4 Quarterfinals: March 6 Semifinals: March 7 Championship: 2 p.m. March 8 on ESPN2	Queens (NC)	Jacksonville, Fla.
Big 12	First Round: March 10 Second Round: March 11 Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 6 p.m. March 14 on ESPN		Kansas City, Mo.
Big East	First round: March 11 Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 6:30 p.m. March 14 on FOX		New York City
Big Sky	First Round: March 7 Second Round: March 8 Quarterfinals: March 9 Semifinals: March 10 Championship: 11:30 p.m. March 11 on ESPN2		Boise, Idaho
Big South	First Round: March 4 Quarterfinals: March 6 Semifinals: March 7 Championship: 12 p.m. March 8 on ESPN2	High Point	Johnson City, Tenn.
Big Ten	First Round: March 10 Second Round: March 11 Third Round: March 12 Quarterfinals: March 13 Semifinals: March 14 Championship: 3:30 p.m. March 15 on CBS		Chicago
Big West	First Round: March 11 Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: March 14		Henderson, Nev.
CAA	First Round: March 6 Second Round: March 7 Quarterfinals: March 8 Semifinals: March 9 Championship: 7 p.m. March 10 on CBSSN	Hofstra	Washington, D.C.
Conference USA	First Round: March 10 Quarterfinals: March 11 and 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 8:30 p.m. March 14 on CBSSN		Huntsville, Ala.
Horizon League	Play-in: March 2 First Round: March 4 Second Round: March 8 Semifinals: March 9 Championship: 7 p.m. March 10 on ESPN	Wright State	Higher seed hosts first three rounds, Indianapolis for last two rounds
Ivy League	Semifinals: March 14 Championship: 12 p.m. March 15 on ESPN2		Ithaca, N.Y.
MAAC	First Round: March 5 Quarterfinals: March 6 and 7 Semifinals: March 8 Championship: March 10 on ESPN/ESPN2	Siena	Atlantic City, N.J.
MAC	Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 8 p.m. March 14 on ESPN2		Cleveland, Ohio
MEAC	Quarterfinals: March 11 and 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: March 14		Norfolk, Va.
Missouri Valley	First Round: March 5 Quarterfinals: March 6 Semifinals: March 7 Championship: 12 p.m. March 8 on CBS Sports	UNI	St. Louis
Mountain West	First Round: March 11 Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 6 p.m. March 14 on CBS		Las Vegas
Northeast	Quarterfinals: March 4 Semifinals: March 7 Championship: 7 p.m. March 10 on ESPN2/ESPN+	LIU	Higher seed hosts
Ohio Valley	First Round: March 4 Quarterfinals: March 5 Semifinals: March 6 Championship: 9 p.m. March 7 on ESPN2	Tennessee State	Evansville, Ind.
Patriot League	First Round: March 3 Quarterfinals: March 5 Semifinals: March 8 Championship: March 11		Higher seed hosts
SEC	First Round: March 11 Second Round: March 12 Quarterfinals: March 13 Semifinals: March 14 Championship: 1 p.m. March 15 on ESPN		Nashville, Tenn.
SoCon	First Round: March 6 Quarterfinals: March 7 Semifinals: March 8 Championship: 7 p.m. March 9	Furman	Asheville, N.C.
Southland	First Round: March 8 Quarterfinals: March 9 Semifinals: March 10 Championship: 5 p.m. March 11 on ESPN2	McNeese	Lake Charles, La.
SWAC	First Round: March 9 Second Round: March 10 Quarterfinals: March 11 and 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: 7:30 p.m. March 14		Atlanta
Summit League	Opening Round: March 4 Quarterfinals: March 5 and 6 Semifinals: March 7 Championship: 9 p.m. March 8 on CBSSN	North Dakota State	Sioux Falls, S.D.
Sun Belt	First Round: March 3 Second Round: March 4 Third Round: March 5 Fourth Round: March 6 Quarterfinals: March 7 Semifinals: March 8 Championship: 6 p.m. March 9 on ESPN/ESPN	Troy	Pensacola, Fla.
West Coast	First Round: March 5 Second Round: March 6 Third Round: March 7 Quarterfinals: March 8 Semifinals: March 9 Championship: 9 p.m. March 10	Gonzaga	Las Vegas
WAC	First Round: March 11 Quarterfinals: March 12 Semifinals: March 13 Championship: March 14		Las Vegas