DH unlikely to get late blessing in NL
While no evidence exists to suggest MLB and its players’ union would rethink this year’s protocols in any major way in the weeks before the season starts, one of the ideas permeating camps in Florida and Arizona is the idea that maybe, at the last second, everyone will agree to restore the designated hitter to the NL after all.
“Because of how things went last year, I think we understand that rules could change at the last second. So I don’t know if it’s a hope; it’s just we don’t know,” Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s really a situation where we don’t know. Because they changed rules, changed playoff situations late, it certainly could happen again. I think that’s how you have to look at it.”
But people familiar with the plans on both the MLB and union sides said a last-minute change is unlikely. Teams have already built their rosters under current rules. And nothing has happened at spring training that would spur the reopening of agreed-to protocols.
ELSEWHERE
Yankees: Left-hander Zack Britton needs surgery to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow and seems certain to miss the start of the season. The reliever will return to New York on Wednesday. Manager Aaron Boone said Britton’s ulnar collateral ligament was not suspected of being hurt, an injury that if diagnosed could lead to Tommy John surgery.
Braves: Left-hander
Max Fried will start in his first game of the spring Wednesday against Boston after being held back due to COVID-19 tracing. He never tested positive and threw a side session on Tuesday in preparation for his start against the Red Sox. The delay is not expected to affect Fried’s availability for the start of the regular season. Fried won 17 games in 2019 and was 7-0 with a 2-25 ERA last season.
Rangers: Slugger
Joey Gallo hit his fifth home run in six spring games, connecting off Aaron Civale in a 9-2 loss to Cleveland. Gallo is batting .429 (6 of 14) with a double and nine RBI.
Indians: Daniel Johnson helped his chances in a crowded Cleveland outfield competition by homering twice and Bobby Bradley had three RBI in the win against Texas. The 25year-old Johnson, who came to the Indians in a 2018 trade from Washington, spent most of last season at the team’s alternate training site. Bradley continued his impressive spring as he tries to win the starting job.
Yankees: Gary Sanchez hit his third home run for New York and Jay Bruce hit his second in a 6-5 loss to Detroit. Deivi Garcia pitched three shutout innings in his second spring start.
Mets: Taijuan Walker made his first start for New York, striking out
Matt Carpenter and
Nolan Gorman in a perfect first inning before giving up an RBI single to
Andrew Knizner and a sacrifice fly to Edmundo Sosa in the second in a 5-3 win over St. Louis.
When the Miami Hurricanes begin spring practice Monday, they’ll be doing so with quarterbacks with fewer than a dozen combined college snaps and just one player who has ever started more than one game at defensive end. Where UM’s offense stands:
QUARTERBACK
Likely spring depth chart: 1. Tyler Van Dyke ;2. Peyton Matocha ;3. Jake Garcia.
With D’Eriq King recovering from a torn ACL and N’Kosi Perry and Tate Martell gone, all the spring QB snaps will be shared by inexperienced players. One UM official made Van Dyke the favorite to win the backup job but warned not to rule out Garcia.
One UM person said Van Dyke has an impressive arm, accuracy and a maturity and seriousness about him, but needs to improve processing information quickly during plays. That person noted thatBrad Kaaya — who started as a freshman — was more advanced than Van Dyke when both entered UM, but believes Van Dyke has a chance to be very good. “He’s the real deal,” one player said. King remains on track to play in the opener against Alabama.
RUNNING BACK
Likely spring depth chart: 1. Cam’Ron Harris ;2. Jaylon Knighton or Don Chaney Jr.
UM has only three scholarship tailbacks this spring, because Robert Burns is transferring and four-star freshmen Thad Franklin and Cody Brown
haven’t arrived. Brown, Rivals’ 193rd-best player in the 2021 class, committed to UM on Monday after getting a release from Tennessee.
Harris started and finished last season well, but cannot afford another midseason slump like the one in 2020, when he mustered 35 yards on 28 carries against Clemson, Pittsburgh and Virginia.
Harris ended the regular season with far more offensive snaps (396) than either Knighton (164) or Chaney (157). Harris last season averaged 5.0 per carry, Chaney 4.7 and Knighton 4.0.
Knighton (12.3 yards per reception last season) is the most elusive receiver of the group, but Chaney (13 yards per catch) is close. Harris averaged 7.3 yards per reception.
TIGHT END
Likely spring depth chart: 1. Will Mallory ;2. Larry Hodges and Dominic Mammarelli ;3. Elijah Arroyo.
Among the three players competing to back up Mallory, Arroyo has the most intriguing skill set. He had 79 receptions for 1,338 receiving yards and 18
TDs in 23 Texas high school games in 2019 and 2020.
“We’re excited about him; he’s 6-4, athletic, plays like a receiver in a tight end’s body, in a lot of ways like [NFL-bound] Brevin Jordan does,” offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. Hodges, who can also play Hback, had only 67 offensive snaps last season but Lashlee said he expects a jump.
Mallory can improve his draft stock from mid- to late-round pick (according to an NFL scout). He caught 22 of 30 targets last season for 329 yards and four touchdowns and will play more with Jordan gone.
Mammarelli must be dominant as an in-line blocker. Tight end Khalil Brantley, a threestar recruit from Miami Northwestern, enrolls in a few months.
WIDE RECEIVER
Boundary: Likely two starters to emerge from Charleston Rambo, Dee Wiggins and Mark Pope, with Keyshawn Smith and Michael Redding
challenging and Jeremiah Payton a wild card . ... Slot: 1. Mike Harley ;2. Xavier Restrepo.
Receivers coach Rob Likens
said he plans to use at least six receivers in games; he will have 12 from which to choose after freshmen Romello Brinson, Brashard Smith and Jacolby George arrive in the coming months.
Payton, who has only six career receptions for 58 yards, needs to put it together in year three. Daz Worsham played only one offensive snap as a freshman partly because he needed to bulk up.
Look for second-year players Smith and Redding to push Wiggins and Pope, who each had six drops and combined to catch only 9 of 34 passes thrown at least 20 yards in the air. Pope and Wiggins “have good enough hands to be playing Power 5 football,” Likens said.
Rambo, the speedy Oklahoma transfer, arrives at UM with 76 career catches for 1180 yards (15.5 average) and nine touchdowns. Rambo caught 11 of 27 deep balls (20 yards plus) thrown to him the past two years, with three drops.
“I’m hearing guys say, ‘Can he get back to the person from 2019?’ ” said Rambo, who lost playing time last season to two younger Oklahoma players.
OFFENSIVE LINE
UM has a solid tackle tandem in the much-improved Zion Nelson (left tackle) and Jarrid Williams (right tackle), but the Canes still lack the elite tackle talent that they once had with
Bryant McKinnie, Vernon Carey and Ereck Flowers. Perhaps second-year players Issiah Walker or Jalen Rivers or freshman early arrival Michael McLaughlin can develop into that.
Right guard Navaughn Donaldson’s return from a 2019 knee injury should stabilize the line; he has looked good this offseason. At left guard, DJ Scaife (three sacks allowed last season) competes with Jakai Clark, who permitted no sacks in 2020.
Corey Gaynor is set at center and two 2021 interior line signees, Ryan Rodriguez and Laurence Seymore, enroll this summer.
CHATTER
Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy, a former NFL scout, said: “If the Dolphins can get Isaiah Wilson straightened out, that would be a mauling right side with Robert Hunt kicked inside at guard. But sounds like that’s a big if.”
The newly acquired Wilson, the 29th pick in last year’s draft, gives Miami 12.5 percent of all players picked in last year’s first round. Unless the Dolphins add more competition, there will be a four-way battle for two spots on the right side of the line, among Hunt, Solomon Kindley, Jesse Davis and Wilson. ... Hunt, Davis and Wilson (who played only three snaps for the Titans) can play tackle or guard; he was a right tackle at Georgia.
Wilson’s cap number for the Dolphins in 2021 will be $1.135 million, leaving Miami with $35 million in space days away from the start of free agency.
The Heat has the NBA’s fourth-easiest schedule in the second half, based on record of its opponents.
Even though the Marlins want Adam Duvall (1 for 12 this spring) to be their primary right fielder, a decision looms if Garrett Cooper (a better hitter but worse defensively) continues to outplay him . ... In the second-base battle, Isan Diaz is 2 for 10 and Jazz Chisholm 2 for 11, with three strikeouts for each.
It remains to be seen how Inter Miami will look in Season 2 under new coach Phil Neville, but one thing seems certain: Rodolfo Pizarro will be expected to play a central role.
The dynamic midfielder, who plays for Mexico’s national team, started strong last year, but his production trailed off toward the end of the season. He finished with four goals and five assists in 19 matches.
Neville was watching on TV from England and arrived at his new job in January with high expectations for Pizarro.
“I saw a lot of games last year, saw the type of player technically he can be, and in terms of the training I’ve seen over the last three weeks, he’s got fantastic quality,” Neville said of Pizarro.
The key, Neville, said, is to put the ball at Pizarro’s feet more, so he can work his magic.
“We’ve got to get Rodolfo the ball and almost make him the central point of the team in terms of his quality and the influence he can have on the team,” Neville said. “Ultimately, we have to provide a system, a methodology to make sure he has that platform to go out and perform. Then it’s up to Rodolfo to show the form he shows for Mexico and that we know he can show for Inter Miami.”
Pizarro, 27, played mostly as a central attacking midfielder last season. He occasionally floated to the wings. He was most effective when he had freedom to move with the ball.
“When you talk about Rodolfo Pizarro, I think what you want — forget the position — you want him on the ball because he’s got great technical ability,” Neville said.
“He’s got the ability to turn, the ability to see the pass, so I think that’s something that we need to work really hard on, to get our best technical players
on the ball and that means we have to give Rodolfo a good platform, a better platform to be successful.”
Neville said he has been encouraged by the attacking players, who include Pizarro, Lewis Morgan, Gonzalo Higuain, Robbie Robinson, Matias Pellegrini and Julian Carranza.
“We’ve got in our forward line some really exciting players who on their day can be match
winners and Rodolfo is part of that front line.”
INTER MIAMI VS MIAMI FC
Neville and Miami FC coach Paul Dalglish go way back to their days coming up through English soccer, so they made it a point to set up a March 20 preseason game. Dalglish, son of legendary Scottish player and Liverpool coach Kenny Dalglish,
said the relationship between his USL Championship club and Inter Miami has improved since the MLS club hired Neville and sporting director Chris Henderson.
“Phil and I spoke a little before he got the job, we’ve got a lot of mutual friends, so as soon as he got the job we arranged we’d play, and hopefully play their (USL) Fort Lauderdale side as well,” Dalglish said. “That’s how it should be, local teams helping each other. We’re rivals on the field but partners off it. We’ve got a responsibility to grow the game. Under the previous leadership that wasn’t an option. Since the changes have been made, Inter Miami have been absolutely incredible to us and opened up the doors and we’ll try to work together as often as we can.”
Dalglish said it makes sense for his FIU-based team to cooperate with Fort Lauderdale-based Inter Miami, especially with travel restrictions.
“We have three teams in the area, different leagues, so even with players, if I see an MLS player, I’ll call Phil or Chris straightaway and send them a text,” Dalglish said.
“I’m close friends with Paul Dalglish, so straightaway when I got the job he was on the phone saying, ‘I want a preseason friendly,’ ” Neville said. “It made sense. We can play them. They’re right around the corner. It will be a competitive game where players will probably play 45 minutes each.”
SUNDERLAND’S CURRY LINKED TO MIAMI
Mitch Curry, a Sunderland Under-23 forward, is negotiating a move to Inter Miami. An MLS source said Curry, 21, would start with Inter Miami’s USL team, Fort Lauderdale SC, with the potential of moving up. Lewis Morgan played for Sunderland before joining Inter Miami.
Kasperi Kapanen got his fourth goal in his past five games and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins won at home over the New York Rangers 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Teddy Blueger and Jake Guentzel also scored for the Penguins, who went 4-1 on their homestand to gain ground in the hypercompetitive East Division. Sidney Crosby’s emptynet goal with 32 seconds to go helped Pittsburgh escape.
Tristan Jarry finished with 33 saves — including a couple of scrambling stops on his belly in the final minutes to preserve a one-goal lead. He improved to 8-3 in his last 11 starts.
New York defenseman Jack Johnson — making his first appearance in Pittsburgh since the Penguins released him during the offseason — scored his first goal in more than a year. Ryan Strome picked up his ninth with a powerplay score early in the third period. Keith Kinkaid made 23 stops while withstanding an early barrage but eventually wore down as the Rangers dropped their second straight.
Islanders 2, Bruins
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1: Anthony Beauvillier scored the deciding goal in the shootout and host New York beat Boston for the Islanders sixth straight win.
Brock Nelson scored in regulation for the Islanders, and Semyon Varlamov stopped 32 shots as Barry Trotz became the third coach in NHL history to reach 1,700 games behind the bench. New
York beat Boston for the fourth time in four meetings this season.
Capitals 5, Devils
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4: Jakub Vrana scored his second goal of the game in overtime to help host Washington beat New Jersey after squandering a three-goal lead.
Washington has won six of seven games, including two in a row since Tom Wilson was suspended for hitting Boston’s Brandon Carlo in the head, but
New Jersey earned a point with a dominant third period that featured a 16-5 shot disparity. The Capitals
went up 4-1 before the Devils tilted the ice, scoring three consecutive goals to force OT.
Jets 4, Maple Leafs ●
3: Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves, leadingWinnipeg over the North Division-leading Toronto.
ELSEWHERE
Television: The NHL ● will return to ESPN beginning next season. The two sides have reached agreement on a seven-year contract that includes four Stanley Cup Finals, people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.