LOS ANGELES — Wednesday was a busy day for the Dodgers adding pitching depth to the 40-man roster. First came trading for left-hander Jake Eder, then in the afternoon the team claimed right-hander Grant Holman off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Holman pitched parts of the last two seasons in the majors with the Athletics, totaling a 4.66 ERA and 4.42 xERA in 40 games, with 33 strikeouts and 18 walks in 38 2/3 innings. He missed the final three and a half months of last season with rotator cuff tendinitis in his right shoulder.

The former sixth-round pick from 2021 in February was claimed off waivers from the A’s by the Diamondbacks in February. Arizona designated Holman for assignment last Wednesday in finalizing their opening day roster.

Holman, who turns 26 on May 31, has one year, 31 days of major league service time. He has two minor league option years remaining, having used an option year in 2025.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Holman, pitcher Gavin Stone was transferred to the 60-day injured list. It doesn’t change much regarding the timeline for Stone, who is pain-free in his right shoulder and just resumed throwing at Camelback Ranch in Arizona this week after getting shut down in spring training.

“I would say he’s pre-spring training, or right at the beginning,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Stone on Monday, meaning Stone still has to go through the usual spring progression and eventual building up of innings en route back to the majors, after missing all of 2025 after shoulder surgery.

Adding Stone to the 60-day injured list means he cannot return to the Dodgers before May 21.

Mental lapses during a game can happen in the early season, but it’s rare when it happens to a veteran whose known for his sound play.

That’s what happened to Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor on Wednesday. In an afternoon bereft of offense and timely hitting, Lindor’s mental lapses stood out. 

In the first, Lindor handled a groundball that was perfect to turn an inning-ending double play. However, Lindor calmly jogged to second base for the out and turned to the dugout. Lindor forgot how many outs there were, pushing starter Freddy Peralta to throw five more pitches.

“The groundball is the one that’s no excuses,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of the mistake. “He’ll be the first one that tells you that.”

And Lindor did, telling the media after the 2-1 extra-innings loss that he simply forgot how many outs there were.

“I made a mistake that probably cost Peralta to go an extra inning because he had to throw more pitches after that,” Lindor said. “Inexcusable. He probably could have gone six, maybe seven. I just forgot the outs.”

The mistake didn’t cost the Mets any runs. Peralta finished the inning, striking out the next batter en route to throwing 92 pitches across 5.1 innings. The ace of the Mets staff allowed just one run, but it wasn’t enough as the Mets offense pushed across just one run, but it potentially could have been more.

In the sixth, and the game scoreless, Lindor reached on an error with one out. With Juan Soto at the plate, Lindor was picked off without even a slide from the Mets shortstop. 

Soto would homer three pitches later to give the Mets the lead. Unfortunately, it would not hold up as the Cardinals tied it in the bottom half of the inning and eventually won in the 11th.

“The pickoff, they got us there. [Lindor] was going to go, we thought we had a tip there and they got us with a quick, step-off move there,” Mendoza said. “I wouldn’t consider that one as a mental mistake. He was trying to get some momentum there and be aggressive.”

“I should have been better,” Lindor said of the play. “That’s all I got.”

If the Mets win on Wednesday, the mistakes are glossed over, but the loss puts a magnifying glass over a team that has struggled offensively. After scoring 11 runs in their Opening Day win against the Pirates, the Mets have pushed across just 12 runs over their next five games. On Wednesday, the Mets were 0-for-11 with RISP and left 11 runners on base.

Lindor is not too concerned with the offense’s early-season struggles. The Mets (3-3) still have 156 games to go in the season.

“Our pitchers have done a tremendous job. We gotta score runs for them,” Lindor said. “It’s one of those that you hope to put it together as many times as you can during the year. We have put it together, just not every day. Gotta go out there, continue to believe in each other, pass the baton. I trust the guy behind me more than I trust myself. It’s that type of mentality. We’re going to be on top more times than not.”

The Mets will hope to turn their struggles around when they open a four-game series against the Giants in San Francisco starting Thursday. 

The Portland Trail Blazers were fined $100,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for violating the league’s rules around contact with draft-ineligible players in 2023, the league announced.

Blazers assistant general managers Sergi Oliva and Mike Schmitz were also suspended for two weeks without pay. The offenses reportedly occurred during the team’s scouting of Blazers center Yang Hansen during the 2023-24 season.

The Blazers’ statement, via Fred Katz of The Athletic:

“When this was brought to our attention the Portland Trail Blazers self-reported to the NBA. The team cooperated fully with the investigation and accept the league’s determination.”

The Blazers drafted Hansen out of China with the 16th overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. The 7-footer has appeared in 41 games for the Blazers this season, averaging 7.2 minutes per game almost entirely off the bench.

In addition to his assistant GM role, Oliva is the head coach of Portland’s G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix. He has been a member of the organization since 2024, having previously worked as an assistant coach under Quin Snyder with the Utah Jazz.

Schmitz previously worked for ESPN, Yahoo Sports and Draft Express before joining the Blazers in 2022.

The Portland Trail Blazers were fined $100,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for violating the league’s rules around contact with draft-ineligible players in 2023, the league announced.

Blazers assistant general managers Sergi Oliva and Mike Schmitz were also suspended for two weeks without pay. The offenses reportedly occurred during the team’s scouting of Blazers center Yang Hansen during the 2023-24 season.

The Blazers’ statement, via Fred Katz of The Athletic:

“When this was brought to our attention the Portland Trail Blazers self-reported to the NBA. The team cooperated fully with the investigation and accept the league’s determination.”

The Blazers drafted Hansen out of China with the 16th overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. The 7-footer has appeared in 41 games for the Blazers this season, averaging 7.2 minutes per game almost entirely off the bench.

In addition to his assistant GM role, Oliva is the head coach of Portland’s G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix. He has been a member of the organization since 2024, having previously worked as an assistant coach under Quin Snyder with the Utah Jazz.

Schmitz previously worked for ESPN, Yahoo Sports and Draft Express before joining the Blazers in 2022.

HOUSTON, TX – Once upon a time, he was the de facto leader of Crush City. Today, Captain Crush was back.

Carlos Correa, who has been open about his excitement of being back in Houston for a whole season and the high expectations he has for this team, hit a 3-run homer in the fifth to put the Astros ahead for good as Houston completed a 3-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox today at Daikin Park.

Correa demolished a 1-2 slider from Red Sox All-Star starter Garrett Crochet (L, 1-1) 402 feet and into the Crawfish Boxes to give the Astros a 5-2 lead.

Correa’s shot left like a laser at 106.7 MPH. Correa is hitting .296 through 7 games with an .811 OPS. The HR gave the Astros a lead they would never relinquish on the way to a 6-4 victory.

Correa spoke with SCHN’s Julia Morales postgame:

Correa’s bomb made a winner of starter Mike Burrows, whose second start was notably better than his first. Burrows threw 5 innings of 2 run ball, allowing 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6. Burrows improved to 1-1 on the season.

The Astros also got run producing contributions from Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker, as well as a solo HR from catcher Christian Vazquez:

Relievers A.J. Blubaugh and Bryan King each pitched clean innings for the Astros in the 6th and 7th innings. Blubaugh registered a strikeout and King had a pair of Ks.

Bryan Abreu came on for the 9th in a save situation at 6-3. He surrendered a solo home run to the Red Sox’ leadoff man in the 9th, Roman Anthony, but then settled down and struck out the next 3 batters for his first save of the season.

More importantly, Abreu was back throwing his fastball in his more customary 96-97 MPH range.

With the victory, the Astros improved to 5-2 on the season, and lead the AL West by a half-game over the Texas Rangers.

They will have an off day Thursday and then open a 3-game series Friday in Sacramento against the Athletics. Cristian Javier will get the start Friday against Jeffrey Springs.

SEATTLE (AP) — Cam Schlittler pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning and Paul Goldschmidt hit a three-run homer as the New York Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 5-3 on Wednesday.

Ben Rice also homered and had an RBI double for the Yankees, who finished 5-1 on their West Coast trip to begin the season. They play their home opener Friday against the Miami Marlins.

Schlittler (2-0) yielded two hits in 6 1/3 innings and retired his last 16 batters, extending his scoreless start to the season. He struck out seven and walked none on 79 pitches, 58 strikes.

The 25-year-old right-hander blanked the Giants across 5 1/3 innings last Friday. He’s permitted only three hits this year while striking out 15 batters. He and teammate Max Fried have each not allowed a run in two starts this season.

Brendan Donovan led off the bottom of the first with a double, but he was the only player to reach second base against Schlittler.

David Bednar needed 40 pitches to get four outs for his third save.

New York took a lead in the first on Rice’s run-scoring double, and Goldschmidt connected off starter George Kirby (1-1) in the sixth for his first homer this season. It was Goldschmidt’s first home run against a right-handed pitcher since June 6.

Rice added a solo shot in the ninth, his first home run this year.

Cal Raleigh drove in two runs for Seattle on a broken-bat single off Bednar with two outs in the eighth that trimmed it to 4-2. Dominic Canzone had an RBI single in the ninth.

Dating to Monday night’s game, Yankees starters have not given up a run in 16 consecutive innings.

Up next

Yankees RHP Will Warren (0-0) starts Friday against Marlins RHP Eury Pérez (0-0).

Mariners RHP Bryan Woo (0-0) gets the ball Friday night on the road against Los Angeles Angels LHP Reid Detmers (0-0).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke was arrested Wednesday in Arkansas on charges including speeding and possession of a controlled substance.

Injuries have limited Clarke to only two games this season, and Memphis has ruled him out for the rest of this season.

“I’m aware of the report, but don’t have any comments,” Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said before Memphis’ game Wednesday night against New York.

The Cross County Sheriff’s Department logged Clarke as booked into jail Wednesday afternoon for improper passing, possession of a controlled substance, fleeing and exceeding the speed limit and trafficking a controlled substance. The department’s website also included a booking photo for Clarke.

The 6-foot-7 forward is in his seventh season out of Gonzaga. Clarke has missed 73 games after originally sitting out 26 games due to recovery from surgery on his right knee with the last 46 with a right calf strain.

The Grizzlies announced March 24 that Clarke was continuing his rehabilitation but recent tests showed he needed more healing before being cleared for “high-intensity court work.” The team said Clarke is out for the remainder of this season and expected back for next season.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Last week, the WNBA established a historic seven-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will run through 2032, paving the way for astronomical league growth. In what will be marked as one of the biggest breakthroughs in women’s professional sports, the WNBA has proven that league growth, competitive parity and expansion are not mutually exclusive.

MLB, on the other hand, is at a pivotal intersection of balancing competitive parity and league growth. The league is staring down an almost guaranteed lose-lose scenario with the current CBA expiring at the end of this year, and salary floors and potential ceilings are nowhere near agreed upon. If the league and team owners want to preserve as much of the 2027 season as possible, they may want to borrow one distinct element from the WNBA’s CBA: scaled player compensation.

In their recently-ratified CBA, the WNBA raised its salary floors and caps to acknowledge the league’s massive boom in the last five years.

Maximum player salaries may grow to up to $2.4 million, based on financial projections. WNBA players are also guaranteed at least 20% of the league’s gross revenue, replacing the previous revenue-sharing model that required league revenue to exceed a specific threshold before players saw any returns.

The increased player compensation corrects previous underpayments and sets a scalable economic system for future growth and league establishment, tying player salaries directly to league performance. 

MLB’s economic structure differs greatly, as revenue doesn’t automatically scale with league engagement.

For starters, player salaries aren’t tied directly to revenue. Salaries increase through free market competition, with team revenue growth and superstars serving as the main drivers for market rates in free agency and arbitration. MLB players have traditionally made as much as teams wanted to pay them. Mechanisms for limiting salary during a player’s initial six years of team control also cut into potential player profits. Long story short, front offices have a heavy hand in balancing salaries with revenue. 

In turn, revenue sharing isn’t guaranteed for MLB players. Profits from revenue sharing from local markets are distributed to teams, not players. Players are at the mercy of owners to reap what they sow. Adjustments to the revenue-sharing model would likely require players to concede to a salary cap.

The dramatic contrasts between a league intentionally designed to scale with anticipated growth and a league having to backtrack and update its structures to preserve its fan base result in severe economic disparity. Using ESPN’s table of WNBA salaries by CBA year and Spotrac’s minimum and highest AAV MLB salaries by CBA year, I recorded salary changes in each league from 2015 to 2026. The results were astonishing.

The lowest-paid WNBA players will make at least 20% of the salary earned by the highest-paid players, while the lowest-paid MLB players make less than 2% of the salary earned by the highest-paid ballplayers. The millions, that’s right, millions of dollars of pay gap is the crux of the problem. Since international market growth, historic media deals, shifts toward direct-to-consumer streaming, and increases in fan attendance have made MLB an $11.1 billion industry, grave salary disparities among MLB players are unjustifiable. 

If MLB decides to directly tie salaries to league revenue in the next CBA, it could transform the game for the future. Tightening the pay gap between rookies and stars would incentivize winning and stellar performance. Rewarding players for their contributions on the field through direct revenue sharing or salary scaling would introduce invisible pay structures that preserve the traditional free market economic system without letting the rich get richer at the expense of the prospects and young talent that serve as the foundation for baseball’s development.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Fernando Mendoza warmed up with his college roommate Wednesday while nearly two dozen college teammates took turns running the 40-yard dash.

Then the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback did what he always seems to do — deliver another impressive performance.

All 32 NFL teams sent scouts to Indiana, more than 100 media members were credentialed and dozens of family members and friends of ex-Hoosiers showed up for a pro day unlike any other in school history. Most came to see the guy expected to be the first-overall pick in this month’s NFL draft and Mendoza didn’t disappoint, using his platform to potentially help his ex-teammates improve their draft stock.

“I feel like it went great,” Mendoza said after throwing the last of his roughly 56 passes inside the John Mellencamp Pavilion. “You know quarterbacks have passed, have done shorter pro days than that. However, I just wanted to make sure everybody could showcase their abilities in front of all 32 NFL teams and really run routes that are applicable to the timing we’re going to be running in the NFL.”

Mendoza threw short, deep and medium-range passes, targeting receivers to the left, right and over the middle. He also threw on the run.

No, he wasn’t perfect. The former Florida prep star and Cal graduate overthrew a diving Elijah Sarratt on a deep ball by a half yard, one of several balls that hit the ground.

Then again, the 6-foot-5 22-year-old doesn’t have to be perfect after seemingly already convincing Las Vegas’ decision-makers to take him at No. 1. The Raiders also seem like a perfect fit for the Boston-born Mendoza, a longtime fan of Raiders minority owner Tom Brady.

Mendoza’s 2025 season certainly got the attention of Brady, who attended January’s national championship game in Miami with majority owner Mark Davis and general manager John Spytek.

Mendoza completed 72% of his throws for 3,535 yards with 41 touchdowns and six interceptions last season, showed his mettle with a twisting highlight-reel scoring run late in the national championship game and defeated a murderer’s row of football powerhouses — Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon and Miami — in succession to capture Indiana’s first outright Big Ten title since 1945 and the school’s first national football title.

At February’s NFL scouting combine, Mendoza skipped the workout and he participated only in the throwing session Wednesday. But with coach Curt Cignetti watching and with bright television lights in the corner of the end zones on opposite ends of the field, Mendoza may have shown how committed he is to exceling as a pro away from the field.

He arrived at 236 pounds — 11 pounds heavier than his listed playing weight. He looked strong and more capable of surviving the big blows from the NFL’s heavier, faster pass rushers.

But Mendoza also said he’s far from a finished product.

“I’m putting all of my efforts toward just trying to be the best quarterback possible for the season,” he said. “But I know at the next level, there’s going to be a lot more snaps under center and that’s a big adjustment. I need to get used to that and just the nature of the game. Not only that, the hash (marks) are more condensed and the speed of the game is faster. So all those things, I look forward to learning.”

Mendoza said he’s already met the Raiders twice, once at the combine and again on Zoom, and he has one additional meeting scheduled before Las Vegas goes on the draft clock April 23. All he can do now is wait, though the pro day gave him one more chance to cherish this last college season.

“You have to take a second to kind of realize what we have all accomplished together here,” Mendoza said, referring to his teammates who finished the workout with a sprint to the end zone, followed by a group hug. “It was a little bit of a moment of a gratitude, looking at those guys and really seeing the special moments I’ve had with each individual. It’s unlikely we’ll all play on the same team again, but, hopefully, I’ll get to play against and with some of those guys again.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl