Gerrit Cole’s pitch count keeps climbing in the minors as he prepares to rejoin the New York Yankees this season. Cole, a six-time All-Star who will be 36 in September, is attempting to complete a long-awaited comeback from Tommy John surgery, which cost him the 2025 campaign.

On April 16, the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner threw 44 pitches in his first rehab start, notably reaching 96 mph while on the bump for Double-A Somerset. He followed that outing with a 52-pitch performance last Thursday for High-A Hudson Valley.

Back with Double-A Somerset on Wednesday, Cole ramped up his workload to 60 pitches, going 5 2/3 innings in a 6-5 loss to Double-A Portland, a Boston Red Sox affiliate.

Cole recorded only three strikeouts and gave up three runs, but he didn’t issue a walk, and he went nearly six innings. He retired the first 11 batters he faced; however, he eventually conceded two homers. That said, of his 60 pitches, 45 were strikes. Cole has only one walk through three rehab starts.

He hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He spoke Wednesday about what he has learned since then.

“I just try to keep things in better perspective,” he said, via SNY. “I’ve become a lot more grateful for the level of competition that the big leagues are and how hard it is to play and how much I miss it. I hopefully improved as a father over the last several months, being around the kids and spending more time with them. And I think just a fresh perspective, grateful to be playing a sport for a living. It’s a blessing.”

While Cole admitted that sometimes he catches himself daydreaming about pitching against, say, the Texas Rangers, he said it’s not too difficult to stay in the moment.

He explained that the gradual buildup he’s going through calls for intense focus and dedication in the here and now.

“You have moments where you think about where you would ideally like to be, and I think that’s natural,” a thoughtful Cole said Wednesday, via MyCentralJersey’s Mike Ashmore.

“Maybe those moments happen more frequently as you get closer to the end. But even though it’s one start, there’s like five days of process that you’ve got to execute. The reality is, I’m confident I’m going to execute these things really, really well. But it’s been a while since I’ve done them.”

Cole added: “It may seem like the same thing over and over again, but that’s the point. We don’t have time up there [in the majors] to push it an extra day, should the recovery not be — you’ve got to go, and you’ve got to perform. I want to get there, but I just have to build such a big base in order to get up there, get in a flow and start to execute.”

Cole is expected to return to MLB action in late May or early June. His road back to the Yankees continues, one step at a time.

The clock is ticking on the Detroit Pistons’ 2025-26 season much earlier than anticipated. Detroit faces elimination against an imposing Orlando Magic defense and, frankly, the Pistons’ nonchalance and self-immolation. Fun fact: the Pistons are holding Orlando to the worst field goal percentage in the NBA Playoffs and averaging nearly four more blocks per game than the next closest team. Detroit’s problem is that its field goal percentage is fourth-worst, and they are combining that poor shooting with 18.3 turnovers per game. If Detroit could get out of its own way and hit a few shots, they’d be the team up 3-1. Do I have confidence they can reverse those trends? Not really.

Game Vitals

When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Prime Video
Odds: Pistons -10.5

Projected Lineups

Detroit Pistons (1-3)

Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Orlando Magic (3-1)

Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Tristan da Silva, Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr.

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We have an action-packed episode of The Big Number coming your way!

Tom Haberstroh and Dan Devine break down how Karl-Anthony Towns is becoming an offensive hub by unlocking Jalen Brunson and the Knicks’ offense. Are the Knicks making a case to come out of the East?

Next, the duo discusses why the Celtics offense is going through a deep freeze and how the Philadelphia 76ers have halted the Celtics’ offensive weapons. Is this pattern for Boston in the postseason cause for concern?

Then, they share what has led to Jalen Duren’s drop from the regular season to the postseason and make sense of Evan Mobley’s performance in the Cavs’ series against the Raptors. Should the Cavs consider making serious moves?

Plus, Adam Silver sent out an NBA draft lottery reform proposal to 30 GMs across the league. Tom and Dan give you the details and walk through a draft simulator based on the new proposed reform.

All that and more!

The Big Number: 26 Kat (1:40)
TLN 1: 14 Celtics (20:58)
TLN 2: 68.8 Jalen Duren (28:15)
TLN 3: -15.7 Mobley (36:00)
Anti Tanking: (44:40)

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Steve Kerr’s future with the Golden State Warriors is still up in the air, and a resolution isn’t expected until next week at the earliest. 

Kerr met with owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy for two hours on Monday, according to ESPN, but the two sides did not determine whether Kerr would remain the franchise’s head coach next season. The meeting was described as productive, according to the report. 

The three men plan to meet again next week to continue discussions. Kerr is set to take a golfing trip to close out the week, and he is reportedly “torn” about his decision.

“It’s April,” a source told ESPN. “We don’t need to rush.”

Kerr has spent the past 12 seasons with the Warriors, and oversaw their dynasty-level run throughout the NBA. The franchise won four titles under his watch and reached the NBA Finals six times in eight years, including in each of his first five seasons at the helm. The team won 73 games during the 2015-16 season, too, which broke the all-time wins record set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Kerr was also a member of that Bulls team.

But the Warriors have struggled in recent years. They went just 37-45 this season and missed the playoffs for the second time in three years. Kerr had an emotional moment with stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the court at the end of their final game. 

“I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I love you guys to death,” Kerr was heard telling the duo. “Thank you. Appreciate you.”

Kerr has been pretty open about knowing that his time with the Warriors may come to an end since that loss. Green even predicted that Kerr wouldn’t be around next season. The Warriors reportedly want Kerr to sign a multiyear extension this offseason, rather than return for a farewell tour-type season. 

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Kerr said after their final game. “I still love coaching, but I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date. There’s a run that happens, and sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas and all that.

“If that’s the case, then I will be nothing but grateful for the most amazing opportunity any person could have to coach in front of our fans in the Bay, to coach Steph Curry, to coach Dray, the whole group. It may still go on, it may not. I don’t know at this point.”

There’s always a morning after the mourning.

Tuesday offered a somber, almost funereal atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia following the removal of Phillies manager Rob Thomson. The club’s 9-19 start proved too much for the 62-year old-skipper to overcome. Phillies players, feeling responsible for their former skipper’s firing, carried the weight of his sudden absence.

But while Thomson’s job could not be saved, Philly’s 2026 season remains alive under interim manager Don Mattingly. 

Crucially, the Phillies actually won a darn game on Tuesday. Jesús Luzardo tossed seven shutout innings. A struggling lineup collected seven runs on 11 hits. Beleaguered third baseman Alec Bohm played his best game of the year. Trea Turner went a crisp 4-for-5. Free-agent addition Adolis García cranked a huge, two-run RBI double. The night was a useful, much-needed reminder of what this ballclub is supposed to be.

Baby steps. Even after that victory, the Phillies are nine games under .500 and six games adrift of a playoff spot. Their 10-19 record remains tied for the worst in MLB. Only the similarly discombobulated New York Mets are keeping Philly company in the cellar. Their playoff odds have been sliced in half since Opening Day. And while there are 133 games left to fix this thing, it’s getting late early in Philadelphia.

Let’s zoom out and assess the situation in Philly.

Why have the Phillies been so bad?

Don’t blame the old guys. They’ve been good.

This has so often been the hypothesized downfall of this era of Phillies baseball: that the core of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto would age out of being offensive difference-makers. That’s a reasonable worry, sure, but not one that has come to fruition just yet. Harper and Schwarber are both OPSing around .850. Turner started slowly but has heated up. Realmuto, who should be back from the IL soon, was performing capably before he got hurt.

The young bucks have been the real issue. Phillies position players in their 20s are currently hitting a combined .205/.259/.293 for a league-worst OPS of .553. That mark is nearly a full 100 points lower than that of the second-from-the-bottom Mets. Frankly, it’s an embarrassing number. The main culprits? Bohm, second baseman Bryson Stott and fill-in catcher Rafael Marchán.

Things are less dire on the pitching front, where the Phillies have been supremely unfortunate in regard to batted-ball luck. Some of that has to do with a middling defense, but a rotation with this much talent won’t shoulder a 5.52 ERA for much longer — especially now that Zack Wheeler is back and Taijuan Walker is unemployed.

What’s their biggest problem?

The bottom of the lineup has to figure things out. It’s really that simple. Bohm, Stott and García need to find a way to be closer to average than downright unplayable. Something resembling a bounce-back from that trio is crucial because the Phillies have almost zero minor-league depth.

Since president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski took over in December 2020, the Phillies have matriculated just three of their own draft picks to the majors: Orion Kerkering, Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford. To be fair, signing big-ticket free agents like the Phillies do regularly comes with the ceding of top picks. Still, this organization’s inability to backfill some of its own holes has exploded into a real issue.

Earlier this year, for instance, the club called up a 25-year-old Dominican outfielder named Felix Reyes. The gargantuan slugger, because of swing-and-miss issues, did not rank on any major prospect list this past winter. He went yard in his very first at-bat but has just two hits since then, giving him a .167 average. Last weekend, Reyes hit in the cleanup spot against a left-handed starter. 

What’s worse? Nobody except for Realmuto is on the IL. Reyes, fun as he can be to watch, should not be Plan A, B or C for a team with World Series aspirations. His inclusion on the big-league roster right now is a sign that the Phillies lack the organizational depth that contenders usually have.

Is there any good news?

Yes: the schedule.

Philadelphia’s recent woes are very much connected to its recent run of opponents. From April 13-26, the Phillies played a combined 13 straight games against the Braves and Cubs, two very good ballclubs that were absolutely on fire at the time. Now, there’s no excuse for going 2-11 in that span, but things will certainly get easier for the Phillies as the calendar flips to May.

They’ve got two more games against a very flawed San Francisco Giants team before a trip to Miami for four against the 14-16 Marlins. After that, the 15-14 Nomad A’s and 13-17 Colorado Rockies come to town. 

There aren’t any gimmes in this league, but that’s a much kinder stretch of the schedule for a team that really needs a favorable bounce or two.

Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet hasn’t pitched like his usual, dominant self this season. Through six starts, the 2025 AL Cy Young runner-up has a 6.30 ERA and has been uncharacteristically wild. Turns out, there was a reason behind his struggles.

The Red Sox placed Crochet on the injured list Wednesday due to left shoulder inflammation.

The move is retroactive to April 26, meaning Crochet could return sooner than initially expected given the severity of the injury. The Red Sox have not revealed a timetable for his return yet.

Crochet entered 2026 coming off his finest season in the majors. After battling injuries and coming up as a reliever with the Chicago White Sox, he transitioned to starting in 2024 and performed well in the role. In 146 innings, he posted a 3.58 ERA for Chicago. While Crochet made 32 starts that season, the team limited his innings down the stretch in an attempt to prevent injury or overuse.

That offseason, the White Sox traded Crochet to the Red Sox for multiple prospects. In his first season with Boston, Crochet seemingly faced no workload restrictions. He led the majors with 205 1/3 innings, putting up a 2.59 ERA and racking up a league-leading 255 strikeouts. That performance was good enough for a second-place finish in Cy Young voting behind Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.

Following his fantastic 2025, Crochet was expected to once again be the Red Sox’s ace. But the 26-year-old hasn’t seemed right this season. He struggled in spring training, putting up a 7.36 ERA over 14 2/3 innings.

Despite that, there was some belief that Crochet would turn things around once the games meant something, and early returns were positive. He posted a scoreless start on Opening Day, notching a win over the Cincinnati Reds.

But he couldn’t keep up that momentum. Crochet allowed four earned runs in his next start, bounced back with another scoreless outing and then gave up 15 earned runs across his next two appearances, including a 10-run implosion against the Minnesota Twins.

His most recent start, April 25 against the Baltimore Orioles, offered hope that Crochet was beyond those struggles, as he didn’t allow a run over six strong innings of work. But that hope was short-lived.

With Crochet sidelined, the Red Sox will likely continue to rely on young starters Connelly Early and Payton Tolle. Both have shown flashes of brilliance in their limited opportunities this season and should have a longer runway to remain in the rotation, depending on how long Crochet is out.

Still, the injury comes at a tough time for the Red Sox. Following the surprising firing of manager Alex Cora, there’s more pressure on the team to rebound following a miserable start. Without Crochet, the Red Sox will need to dig even deeper to work their way back into playoff contention.

The Phoenix Suns had a surprisingly good season on the heels of trading Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets. Dillon Brooks took a substantial offensive leap, and Jalen Green — while inconsistent — had periods when his performance looked mature and more primed for positive play. 

Unfortunately for the Suns, issues remain. Chief among them being a topic that will be controversial to fans of the organization. 

Is Devin Booker good enough to be viewed as a No. 1 star? 

Look, Booker is good. He’s a formidable scorer, his playmaking has been historically undervalued, and he’s made defensive strides over the course of his career, which have mostly gone unnoticed. That said, outside of games when he truly goes off, Booker seems to fluctuate between franchise leader and complementary star. 

Christian Petersen via Getty Images

During their sweep to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, Booker averaged 21.3 points per game and looked every bit like a guy who isn’t a primary player. He also shot 46% from the floor and 25% from 3 and averaged four turnovers per game.

Some will point to his persistent ankle issues, and that’s a fair point. His performance against Oklahoma City might not be representative of his true impact. Yet we’ve seen him decline as a 3-point shooter for four years now (34.3% over his last 260 games), and he is a bit all over the place. 

After averaging 31 points and seven assists over the first eight games of the season, his scoring dropped by a whopping 10 points per game over the next 14. For a player, whose primary skill is putting the ball in the basket, the Suns need more out of him. 

2025-26 finish

Record: 45-37, seventh in the Western Conference. Eliminated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in four games in the first round. 

Highlight of the season 

The offensive evolution of Brooks, who became a nightly 20-point scorer, which was very much needed as Phoenix’s offense was projected to be poor before his emergence. 

Players signed for next season 

Devin Booker 

Jalen Green 

Dillon Brooks 

Grayson Allen

Royce O’Neale

Khaman Maluach

Ryan Dunn

Rasheer Fleming 

Key free agents

Oso Ighodaro (partial guarantee) 

Collin Gillespie (UFA) 

Jordan Goodwin (UFA) 

Projected salary

$154,574,458

Projected draft picks

No. 47

Draft focus: Best player available, full stop. The Suns need talent, and if they circle in for a guy who can — in particular — fill up the bucket, all the better. Because they need it. 

Roster-building tools

The Suns will be, yet again, expensive. It’s kind of their brand by now. Unless, of course, they make sweeping changes, but that seems unlikely. 

Gillespie will command a high new salary, and they can’t afford to lose him. So if we anticipate his return at a costly salary, we’re probably looking at a team that won’t be able or feel free to use the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, even if the Suns can stay under that threshold. 

Needs & goals

The Suns need to identify, once and for all, what their ambition level is. They became younger last summer, which was probably the right play. So, sticking with that vision, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to prioritize youth whenever they can and try to build a sustainable model for the future.