The 2025-26 NBA regular season reached an exciting conclusion, with playoff and play-in tournament positioning coming down to the final Sunday, and now the playoffs are here.
The Detroit Pistons closed with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Boston Celtics had an impressive regular season — most of which was played without Jayson Tatum as he recovered from an Achilles injury suffered in last year’s postseason — and finished with the second seed in the East.
Oklahoma City Thunder are the top seed in the West for the second straight season, finishing two games ahead of Victor Wembanyama’s hard-charging San Antonio Spurs.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic made it to the postseason out of the East play-in tournament, while the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns made it out of the West’s play-in tournament. Both the Trail Blazers and Suns were eliminated in the first round.
Here are the current odds for every NBA playoff series.
First round
No. 1 Detroit Pistons (-375) vs. No. 8 Orlando Magic (+290)
Series tied 3-3
No. 2 Boston Celtics (-275) vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers (+225)
Series tied 3-3
No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 6 Atlanta Hawks
Knicks win series 4-2
No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers (-325) vs. No. 5 Toronto Raptors (+260)
Series tied 3-3
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 8 Phoenix Suns
Thunder win series 4-0
No. 2 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers
Spurs win series 4-1
No. 3 Denver Nuggets (-150) vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves
Wolves win series 4-2
No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets (+260)
Los Angeles Lakers win 4-2
Second round
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder (-2000) vs. No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers (+950)
No. 2 San Antonio Spurs (-2000) vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves (+950)
Jacob Misiorowski was dealing. Then he was leaving.
The Milwaukee Brewers’ rising star exited Friday’s 6-1 win against the Washington Nationals with a right hamstring cramp after 5 1/3 hitless innings. He had thrown 85 pitches, striking out eight and walking two Nationals up that point.
After throwing a 98.9 mph pitch to James Wood — tied for his second-slowest fastball of the night out of 53 pitches — Misiorowski called in the trainer despite no visible pain or discomfort. The Brewers announced the cramp a few minutes later.
The Brewers replaced him with reliever Aaron Ashby, with the no-hitter still intact.
Jacob Misiorowski exits his start after 5.1 no-hit innings. The broadcast suspects it’s a cramp or lower-half injury of some sort pic.twitter.com/CeTOoc1PKK
Ashby kept the no-hitter going through six innings, then lost it in the seventh on a double from Daylen Lile.
Misiorowski exited the game as the MLB leader in strikeouts with 59 on the season. The hardest-throwing starting pitcher in baseball, he was particularly filthy against the Nationals with a fastball that topped out at 103 mph.
The 24-year-old is in his second season in MLB and is among the top 10 contenders for the NL Cy Young Award, according to sportsbooks.
Despite a horde of injuries, the Baltimore Orioles are hanging around in the AL East more than a month into their first season under manager Craig Albernaz. They entered a four-game road series against in New York on Friday with a 15-16 record and a third-place standing in the division, five games back of the first-place Yankees.
The Orioles announced ahead of their series opener in the Bronx that they’ve placed closer Ryan Helsley on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Wednesday. He’s dealing with right elbow inflammation, according to the Orioles. Right-hander Albert Suárez, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Norfolk, will replace Helsley on the 26-man roster.
The 31-year-old Helsley is in his first season with the Orioles. He’s coming off a rough 2025 campaign, which he started with the St. Louis Cardinals and ended with the New York Mets after being traded at the deadline; however, just two seasons ago, he was MLB’s saves leader.
Helsley came into Friday tied for fourth in the majors with seven saves this time around. He’s a perfect 7-for-7 in save opportunities this season and is posting a 2.53 ERA through 10 2/3 innings.
Last week, he was on the bereavement/family medical emergency list. He missed one save opportunity, and that went to rookie right-hander Anthony Nunez, who got the job done in an 8-6 win over the Kansas City Royals on April 22.
In Helsley’s absence, Baltimore is expected to use multiple arms from an impressive Orioles bullpen to close out games, Nunez among them.
As for Suárez, he could start on Sunday against the Yankees, considering lefty Trevor Rogers is on the 15-day IL with an illness. Rogers and Helsley are part of the dozen Orioles who are sidelined.
The others are starting pitchers Dean Kremer (quad) and Zach Eflin (elbow), first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (foot), second baseman Jackson Holliday (hamate), third baseman Jordan Westburg (elbow), outfielder Heston Kjerstad (hamstring) and relief pitchers Dietrich Enns (foot), Yaramil Hiraldo (shoulder), Colin Selby (shoulder) and Félix Bautista (shoulder).
Unfortunately for Baltimore, this is nothing new. The Orioles used the IL 39 times for 29 players in 2025, per MLB.com.
The Milwaukee Brewers placed pitcher Brandon Woodruff on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, the team announced Friday.
That outcome seemed imminent after Woodruff left Thursday’s start against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning. Facing only six batters, Woodruff showed diminished velocity with his fastball, averaging 85.4 mph (and topping out at 86.9 mph) after averaging 92.5 mph during his first five starts of the season.
Brandon Woodruff exited his start today in the 2nd inning with an apparent injury.
Following the game, Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters Woodruff said that his arm was “dead” and couldn’t throw with higher velocity. Yet he didn’t feel like he was injured.
“I think we just have to be really cautious here,” Murphy said. “We’re going to get him checked out. We’re going to get him tested.”
Talking to reporters Friday, Woodruff confirmed an MRI revealed right shoulder inflammation but didn’t seem concerned that he would be out for very long.
“I went out [Thursday] and, honestly, I felt good,” he said. “Nothing alarmed me and I went out for my start, and the ball just wasn’t coming out. A little inflammation in there from the image.
“But after talking with our staff and Dr. [Keith] Meister — I had a conversation with him, my surgeon — it should be a pretty minimum stint here, which is good news,” he added.
Woodruff, 33, has experience with more serious injuries, undergoing surgery on his right shoulder (performed by Meister, a renowned orthopedic surgeon and the head physician for the Texas Rangers) in 2023 that sidelined him for the entire 2024 season.
Last year, Woodruff went on the IL with a right lat strain that resulted in him being shut down in mid-September. He finished with 64 2/3 innings in 12 starts, compiling a 3.20 ERA, 7-2 record and 83 strikeouts.
But as the weather warms, it’s never too early to think about cold weather baseball activities — namely, the 2027 free-agent class.
This will be the first in a series of monthly check-ins. Much will change between now and the offseason. Injuries, underperformance and unexpected breakouts are yet to come. At this point, we don’t know what we don’t know. As such, this list will change a great deal over the coming months.
Before we begin, a few big-picture notes about this class:
1. This could be an all-time bad crop of position-player free agents.
In every single offseason since 2015, at least one hitter received a contract with a total value of $100 million or more. That run might very well be snapped this winter. A strong walk year from Jazz Chisholm Jr. or Seiya Suzuki could lead to a nine-figure deal, but it’s far from a given. Why the shallow group? Extensions for Cal Raleigh and Nico Hoerner kept those shoo-in $100 million talents off the open market. And the 2020 rookie class was particularly light, for whatever reason.
2. There’s tons of pitching.
Whatever you’re shopping for on the mound, this market has it: Game 1 playoff starters, mid-rotation innings-eaters, lefties, righties, velocity, control, reliability, upside. It’s all here.
3. The labor situation will impact things.
It’s a near certainty that a work stoppage of some sort — probably the owners locking out the players — will happen when the current CBA expires on Dec. 1. When that transpired in the winter of 2021-22, there was a flurry of free-agent activity right before the CBA deadline. Things might happen that way again, they might not, but know that zero transactional activity is allowed during a work stoppage. Get ready to get bored.
With all that out of the way, let’s get to the rankings.
Notes: Whenever you see a number, a slash and another number, that’s a reference to contract years and total earnings. For instance, the shorthand for Bryce Harper’s 11-year, $330 million deal would be “11/330.” Ages listed below are for the 2027 season.
1. Tarik Skubal, Tigers SP, age 30
It’s difficult to envision Skubal getting knocked from the top spot. He’s the best pitcher in the world, fresh off two consecutive Cy Youngs and gunning for a third. Barring injury, he will break the record for the largest contract ever handed to a pitcher: Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 12/325. That Skubal is represented by mega-agent Scott Boras will only add to the drama.
Skubal did have a weird moment in his most recent outing, when he shook his arm out and massaged his elbow after throwing a pitch. His next offering was a 97-mph fastball dotted on the edge. So while that moment didn’t become anything bigger, it was a reminder that every hurler in the sport is always one pitch away from catastrophe. If Skubal dodges disaster, the payday will be nuts.
2. Freddy Peralta, Mets SP, 31
Think of Peralta as the best of the rest. Dealt from the Brewers to the Mets over the winter, the ebullient Dominican has been just OK through his first seven starts. But Peralta’s numbers should inch back to his career norms as the season goes along. This guy finished fifth in the NL Cy Young last year and has a career K/9 north of 11. He might not be an ace, depending on your definition, but Peralta is undoubtedly a very good No. 1 starter and will get paid as such.
As mentioned, these are the only two position players with a fighting shot at a nine-figure deal. Despite being notably older, Suzuki ranks over Chisholm for his offensive consistency. The Japanese outfielder has tallied at least 580 plate appearances with an adjusted OPS 30% above league average in each of the past three seasons. Suzuki hits the ball hard, in the air, very often. That’s a crucial, repeatable skill. He’s also a better athlete and outfielder than you might expect — Team Japan had him playing center in the WBC — even if those skills will decline over time.
Chisholm, though, could leapfrog Suzuki with a monster season. The gregarious Bahamian clanked 30 homers and swiped 30 bags last season but has gotten off to a slow start in 2026. He’s walking less, swinging slower and barreling the ball less often. Still, Chisholm is talented enough to catch fire at any time. His defense at the keystone is stellar, as is his baserunning. Those attributes give him a decently high floor. If the offense bounces back, watch out.
5. Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays SP, 36
Age is but a number. Gausman was initially much lower on this list, but he kept climbing higher with each edit. His performance, in the end, was simply too good to ignore. The Jays’ righty has thrown at least 174 innings in each of the past five seasons and is on pace to do so again. He’s no longer quite as dominant as he was from 2021 to ‘23, but this guy was the ace of a Jays team that was inches from winning it all last fall. The underlying metrics still love him, and his heater-splitter combo remains one of the game’s best. He won’t earn a lengthy pact because of his age, but some team (maybe the Jays) will pay big money over the short term to secure his services.
6. Ian Happ, Cubs OF, 32 7. Randy Arozarena, Mariners OF, 32 8. Taylor Ward, Orioles OF, 33
This is a weird one. Three left fielders, all of them nearly the same age, with very similar offensive production over the past three seasons. Happ gets the edge in the early going because he has the longest track record, and he’s merely average defensively, whereas Arozarena and Ward are active detriments in the outfield.
But if steals are your thing, Arozarena is your guy. He has 112 bags since 2022 (Happ has 43, Ward 20). And, of course, the Cuban-born Mexican goofball always brings a flair for the dramatic. Ward is off to a scorching start in 2026, with a batting average over .300 and a league-leading 13 doubles. He also owns the single lowest chase rate in MLB.
It’s Tarik Skubal and everybody else when it comes to the 2027 MLB free-agent class.
King has a $28 million player option for 2027, but we think he’ll end up reentering free agency if he stays healthy. Despite an injured-plagued 2025, he got a three-year, $75 million deal last offseason. He should be able to beat that if he makes 30 starts. So far, so good.
Rogers and Bubic can be grouped together as younger-than-typical southpaws with short track records. The O’s lefty was one of the best pitchers in baseball after the All-Star break last year. Bubic was an All-Star himself. That’s more or less where the résumés end. Both have been good, not great so far in ‘26. Depending on how this season plays out, you could envision this duo as high as Nos. 3 and 4 — or way down the rankings.
Imanaga is coming off a bizarre foray through free agency in which he and the Cubs played contractual ping-pong before reuniting on a qualifying offer. His fastball velocity so far this season is back up to where it was during his stellar 2024. If that holds, Imanaga should get a nice multiyear deal.
Arraez is good at defense now? The 30-year-old Venezuelan settled for a one-year deal with the Giants last winter, in part because he was intent on moving back to the keystone from first base. Some teams were spooked by that, but the Giants were willing to take on the experiment. That has paid off so far, with Arraez grading out phenomenally on most defensive metrics. Offensively, he’s up to his old tricks. If the defensive improvement sticks, Arraez is a markedly different player and should get a better look this time around.
Lowe is a bad defender but has a much higher offensive ceiling and sturdier track record than Arraez. He has already gone deep eight times in his first season with the Pirates. Only Marcus Semien has more home runs among second basemen over the past five seasons. That’s all the more impressive considering Lowe has missed a ton of games over the years due to injuries. Perhaps that ends up dampening his free-agent case.
Torres was one of a record four players to accept the qualifying offer this past winter. For whatever reason, his exit velocity and bat-speed numbers are down precipitously compared to 2025. That hasn’t impacted his output just yet, but it’s something to monitor as the season unfolds.
16. Ryan Jeffers, Twins C, 30
Easily the top catcher on the market, Jeffers has quietly been one of the best-hitting backstops in the game over the past few seasons. His framing and throwing numbers are very poor, which probably takes him out of the running for a team that prioritizes defense behind the dish. As he ages, Jeffers probably works best in a hybrid catcher/DH role in which he can spend a bit more time focusing on hitting. He rakes, though, and is off to a magnificent start.
Here we have two occasionally electric, extremely flawed center fielders. Varsho gets the edge based on his glove, an area in which Grisham has curiously declined. The Jays’ center fielder has also cut his strikeout rate by more than 10 percentage points, one of the biggest drops in the sport this year. How that impacts his power production remains to be seen, but the bar is lower for Varsho just because he’s capable of brilliance in the grass.
Grisham was another of the qualifying offer acceptors from last winter. He’s off to a slow start with the Yankees, though the underlying metrics think a rebound is inevitable. Grisham does a few very important things — walk, not chase, square up the ball, hit it hard — very well. That gives him a high floor … as a center fielder. A bounce-back in his defense would go a long way; it was telling that Grisham was wary of testing the open market this past offseason.
Lets call this “Starting Pitching Tier 3.” Mize was off to the best start of his career but just went on the injured list due to a lower-body issue. That’s less concerning than a shoulder or an elbow and shouldn’t influence his free agency too, too much. Gallen returned to Arizona on a one-year deal after dipping his toe in the free-agent waters last winter but looks pretty similar to the pitcher he was in 2025. He’s throwing more sliders and getting more chase as a result, but that’s pretty much it.
Ray, an All-Star last season, looks like a perfectly reliable mid-rotation type right now — somebody you’d start in Game 3 of a playoff series. Maybe he becomes more than that as he gets further away from elbow surgery. Holmes’ transition from the ‘pen to the rotation has gone better than most anybody thought possible. He has a $12 million option for next year, which he’ll probably decline if he continues pitching this well. The Mets have problems; Holmes is not one of them.
23. David Bednar, Yankees RP, 32 (26) 24. Ryan Helsley (opt-out), Orioles RP, 32 25. Raisel Iglesias, Braves RP, 37
Relievers are volatile things. Helsley, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams spent last season pinballing up and down these rankings with the whims of the wind. This trio here, though, represents the clear upper crust of the free-agent relievers to be. There’s an argument that Bednar belongs higher, given his long track record and current dominance. Let’s give it some time and reassess later.
New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza should be able to worry less about his future with the team now, after he received backing from president of baseball operations David Stearns.
Despite a 10-21 start, which included a 12-game losing streak, the organization isn’t pinning the current state of the team on the manager.
“We know our record is not what we want, and we know we are capable of more,” Stearns told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “We don’t view this as a manager problem, and we don’t intend to make a change.”
Through 31 games, the Mets have scored the second-fewest runs (106), recorded the fifth-fewest hits (235), posted the worst OPS (.631) and are tied for the third-worst batting average (.227) in MLB. Injuries have played a part in the dismal start, with shortstop Francisco Lindor, outfielder Luis Robert Jr, infielder Jorge Polanco, starting pitcher Kodai Senga and reliever A.J. Minter currently on the injured list. Juan Soto also missed 15 games due to a calf strain.
While the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies recently dismissed their managers, Stearns and team owner Steve Cohen have reportedly not discussed moving on from the 46-year-old Mendoza, who was hired in 2004 and led the team to the NLCS the following year.
Stearns and the front office are hoping for a repeat of 2024, Mendoza’s first season in charge, when the Mets began the season 24-35 and finished 89-73 to earn one of the NL wild cards.
Ahead of spring training in February, Cohen said he gets more “annoyed” each year that the team doesn’t win and that “table stakes is making the playoffs” in 2026 and missing out two straight seasons is “not good.”
Mendoza, who is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, is getting this lifeline as the team begins a nine-game road trip on which it will play the Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. The Mets will return home May 12 to face the Detroit Tigers before the first Subway Series of the season against the New York Yankees.
Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Ildemaro Vargas had his hitting streak ended at 27 games after going 0-for-4 in Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Vargas, 34, got a base hit in each of the D-Backs’ previous 24 games this season and three more in Arizona’s final three games last year. With the hitless game, he still leads MLB with an .388 batting average. His .412 on-base percentage ranks fifth in the National League and he leads the league with a .673 slugging percentage.
In his four plate appearances on Saturday, Vargas grounded out to third base in the first inning, flew out to center field in the fourth and grounded out to shortstop in the seventh against Cubs starter Shota Imanaga. In the ninth, Vargas hit a ground ball to shortstop facing reliever Ben Brown.
As a team, Arizona managed only four hits against Imanaga and Brown on Saturday.
Vargas’ streak ends as the second-longest to begin a season in MLB history. Ron LeFlore opened the 1976 campaign with hits in 30 consecutive games for the Detroit Tigers. But Vargas still had the longest hitting streak in baseball since Trea Turner’s 27 games from 2021-22.
In the Diamondbacks’ record book, Vargas’ 27-game streak ranks second behind Luis Gonzalez’ 30 games in 1999. His 24-game streak to open a season is tied with Tony Womack’s streak in 2000.
Additionally, Vargas recorded a hit in 20 consecutive road games which set a franchise record. The previous high mark was 18 games by Junior Spivey in 2002 and Stephen Drew in 2010.
During his 10 major-league seasons, Vargas has had three separate stints with the Diamondbacks. He began his MLB career in 2017 before moving on in 2020., then returning to Arizona for the 2021 campaign. The infielder has also played for the Minnesota Twins, Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals.
Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Ildemaro Vargas had his hitting streak ended at 27 games after going 0-for-4 in Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Vargas, 34, got a base hit in each of the D-Backs’ previous 24 games this season and three more in Arizona’s final three games last year. With the hitless game, he still leads MLB with an .388 batting average. His .412 on-base percentage ranks fifth in the National League and he leads the league with a .673 slugging percentage.
In his four plate appearances on Saturday, Vargas grounded out to third base in the first inning, flew out to center field in the fourth and grounded out to shortstop in the seventh against Cubs starter Shota Imanaga. In the ninth, Vargas hit a ground ball to shortstop facing reliever Ben Brown.
As a team, Arizona managed only four hits against Imanaga and Brown on Saturday.
Vargas’ streak ends as the second-longest to begin a season in MLB history. Ron LeFlore opened the 1976 campaign with hits in 30 consecutive games for the Detroit Tigers. But Vargas still had the longest hitting streak in baseball since Trea Turner’s 27 games from 2021-22.
In the Diamondbacks’ record book, Vargas’ 27-game streak ranks second behind Luis Gonzalez’ 30 games in 1999. His 24-game streak to open a season is tied with Tony Womack’s streak in 2000.
Additionally, Vargas recorded a hit in 20 consecutive road games which set a franchise record. The previous high mark was 18 games by Junior Spivey in 2002 and Stephen Drew in 2010.
During his 10 major-league seasons, Vargas has had three separate stints with the Diamondbacks. He began his MLB career in 2017 before moving on in 2020., then returning to Arizona for the 2021 campaign. The infielder has also played for the Minnesota Twins, Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals.
Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Ildemaro Vargas had his hitting streak ended at 27 games after going 0-for-4 in Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Vargas, 34, got a base hit in each of the D-Backs’ previous 24 games this season and three more in Arizona’s final three games last year. With the hitless game, he still leads MLB with an .388 batting average. His .412 on-base percentage ranks fifth in the National League and he leads the league with a .673 slugging percentage.
In his four plate appearances on Saturday, Vargas grounded out to third base in the first inning, flew out to center field in the fourth and grounded out to shortstop in the seventh against Cubs starter Shota Imanaga. In the ninth, Vargas hit a ground ball to shortstop facing reliever Ben Brown.
As a team, Arizona managed only four hits against Imanaga and Brown on Saturday.
Vargas’ streak ends as the second-longest to begin a season in MLB history. Ron LeFlore opened the 1976 campaign with hits in 30 consecutive games for the Detroit Tigers. But Vargas still had the longest hitting streak in baseball since Trea Turner’s 27 games from 2021-22.
In the Diamondbacks’ record book, Vargas’ 27-game streak ranks second behind Luis Gonzalez’ 30 games in 1999. His 24-game streak to open a season is tied with Tony Womack’s streak in 2000.
Additionally, Vargas recorded a hit in 20 consecutive road games which set a franchise record. The previous high mark was 18 games by Junior Spivey in 2002 and Stephen Drew in 2010.
During his 10 major-league seasons, Vargas has had three separate stints with the Diamondbacks. He began his MLB career in 2017 before moving on in 2020., then returning to Arizona for the 2021 campaign. The infielder has also played for the Minnesota Twins, Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals.
Cherie DeVaux; Jockey Jose Ortiz with Golden Tempo. Credit: Rob Carr/Getty; Andy Lyons/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
Cherie DeVaux has made history as the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner
DeVaux, jockey Jose Ortiz and Golden Tempo took home the coveted first-place prize with a time of 2:02.27 in the 1 1/4-mile race on Saturday, May 2
“I’m just glad I could be a representative of all women everywhere that we can do anything we set our minds to,” DeVaux said after her historic win
Cherie DeVaux has made history as the first woman to train a , as she held her nephew, Maverick, and was surrounded by more family members. “I just can’t. Just so, so so happy for Golden Tempo. Jose did a wonderful job, a masterful job of getting him there. He was so far out of it.”
According to , before she sent out her first winner in March 2019.
Earlier in the week, DeVaux shared that she doesn’t aim to center her persona around being a female trainer, but she told the Courier Journal that she still realizes the weight of her accomplishment.
“By doing this, I am inspiring other young women, and that I am proud of,” DeVaux told the outlet. “Women — young, old, whatever age — can look up to me and say, ‘If she can do it, I can do it.’ “
