The New York Mets struck big last year when they reeled in Juan Soto from the Bronx to headline an eventful winter. However, after a disappointing 2025 campaign, the Amazin’s have been on a mission to retool this offseason, and thanks to David Stearns, they’ll go into 2026 with plenty of new faces and hope for success.
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On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about the retooled lineup that the Mets have assembled, which includes signing Bo Bichette and trading for Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox. In addition to the signings of Devin Williams and Jorge Polanco, the new-look Mets are looking forward to a redemption season in 2026.
Later, Jordan and Jake talk about Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, why the Houston Astros cheating scandal caused Beltrán to have to wait and the improbable climb for Jones to make it into the Hall. Then the guys discuss the Philadelphia Phillies bringing J.T. Realmuto back to the City of Brotherly Love, Elly De La Cruz rejecting a big contract extension from the Cincinnati Reds and take a look at the LIDOM Championship Series.
1:12 – The Opener: New-look Mets
22:09 – Luis Robert Jr. trade
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33:24 – Hall of Fame results
54:26 – Around the League: Phillies re-sign Realmuto
1:03:02 – Three-team trade
1:06:47 – Elly turns down extension
1:09:33 – LIDOM Championship Series
Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images
(Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
After a protracted stare-down with the New York Yankees, Cody Bellinger is headed back to the Bronx on a five-year, $162.5 million deal. The pact, which makes Bellinger the team’s third-highest paid player on an annual basis, behind Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, contains a full no-trade clause and opt-outs following the second and third seasons.
The outcome itself is far from shocking.
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By Wins Above Replacement, only Judge provided more value to the 2025 Yankees than Bellinger. He was a great fit in the clubhouse and had zero problems handling the Big Apple pressure-cooker. No other team had a more obvious need for a well-rounded, high-contact corner outfielder. And Bellinger, by all accounts, thoroughly enjoyed his time in New York after arriving from Chicago via a salary-dump trade last winter. So at the winter’s outset, a reunion felt borderline inevitable.
But the path to that conclusion was unexpectedly bumpy. Bellinger and his agent, Scott Boras, were clearly seeking a longer-term contract, but such a deal never materialized. The Yankees, as multiple reports indicated throughout the process, were unwilling to go beyond five years. GM Brian Cashman refused to budge, all but indicating that he was prepared to let Bellinger walk if the outfielder could find a more enticing deal elsewhere. That led to something of a stalemate, with contract details reaching the public at an unusually regular cadence.
As Bellinger and Boras searched for alternate offers — whether as legitimate landing spots or as negotiating leverage — potential big-budget suitors began pivoting one by one. The first major domino to fall was outfielder Kyle Tucker, the consensus top free agent on the market. When the 29-year-old agreed to a shocking, four-year, $240 million deal with the two-time defending champion Dodgers last week, it effectively took Los Angeles out of the Bellinger sweepstakes.
That swap, struck late Tuesday night, appeared to provide the final blow to Bellinger and Boras’ hopes of pushing the Yankees’ offer skyward. With the Mets out of the running, Bellinger and Boras had no choice but to return to the deal Cashman had left on the table all along.
Financially, it’s a moderately disappointing haul. Coming off his most complete season since 2019, Bellinger was surely seeking a contract that would cover most of his 30s. But Boras’ hardball approach paid no extra dividends. That said, a pair of strong seasons could send Bellinger back to the open market two years from now at age 32, with a chance to cash in again.
For the Yankees, this is a prudent, if predictable, move.
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Bellinger provides uniquely excellent defense for a corner outfielder — a must in Yankee Stadium’s relatively expansive left field. The club’s backup plan was most likely Jasson Domínguez, the former über-prospect who has yet to establish himself as an impact player. Domínguez’s shortcomings are particularly glaring on the defensive side of things, where his Christopher Columbus-level routes to the ball proved to be the stuff of Yakety Sax lore.
Although overshadowed by their premature exit in the ALDS against the Toronto Blue Jays, the 2025 Yankees finished the regular season tied with Toronto for the most wins in the American League. As such, Cashman and Co. seem more than happy to run things back in 2026. Bellinger will rejoin a group helmed by back-to-back MVP Aaron Judge and supplemented by second baseman Jazz Chisholm, first baseman Ben Rice and DH Giancarlo Stanton. New York’s unit launched 30 more long balls than any other club last year and finished the season first in most offensive categories.
While it’s not the six- or seven-year pact Bellinger was perhaps dreaming of, this deal represents the culmination of a years-long crawl back to stardom for the 2019 MVP.
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After that historic campaign with the Dodgers, Bellinger’s production fell into a ravine. Los Angeles declined to tender him a contract following the 2022 season. He latched on with the Cubs, with whom he reinvented himself as a contact-oriented player. He parlayed a strong 2023 into an opt-out-laden, three-year pact with Chicago, which sent him to the Bronx in what was essentially a salary dump ahead of last season.
He rebounded immediately, solidifying himself once again as a winning player. Bellinger was lackluster in a small October sample, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d already entrenched himself as a key member of a quality club. Now, he’ll be paid as such for a long stretch of time.
Leading figures include Olympic veterans Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin and Chloe Kim. Vonn, who won gold in the downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, returned to the sport in 2024 after retirement and a partial knee replacement. Three-time Olympian and two-time gold medalist in snowboard slopestyle Jamie Anderson was not on the 97-person list.
Shiffrin, the most decorated Alpine skier, will compete in her fourth Olympics. Kim, a three-time Olympian, aims to be the first snowboarder to win a third straight gold in halfpipe.
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“In many ways, making this team is even harder than the Olympics themselves,” snowboard program director Rick Bower explained in a statement. “The depth of our field is incredible, and selection truly came down to the wire.”
On the men’s side, the U.S. team will be led by three-time Olympian and 2018 slopestyle gold medalist Red Gerard, snowboard cross racer Nick Baumgartner, and 17-year-old Alessandro Barbieri, who’s seen as a medal contender in halfpipe.
Four-time Olympian Nick Goepper will head the freeski halfpipe squad, which also includes two-time Olympic medalist Alex Ferreira, Birk Irving and first-time Olympian Hunter Hess. Irving’s sister, Svea Irving, qualified for the women’s freeski halfpipe. Defending Olympic freeski slopestyle champ Alex Hall is also set to compete in his third Olympics.
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Olympic champion and three-time cross-country skiing medalist Jesse Diggins will participate in her fourth and final Olympics. Chris Lillis is returning for the aerials team. He took gold at the 2022 Games.
At the 2022 Beijing Games, skiers and snowboarders earned 15 of the 25 medals for Team USA. For the 2026 Winter Olympics, they’ll make up nearly half of all the athletes representing the U.S.
When the New York Mets signed Bo Bichette and traded for Luis Robert Jr., many wondered if President of Baseball Ops David Stearns was finished making major moves this offseason. On Wednesday night though, Stearns had one more big surprise up his sleeve when he acquired someone from his past days in Milwaukee.
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On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman discuss the big trade that saw the Mets deal for Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers in exchange for a package of top prospects Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams. With Peralta now headlining the Mets’ starting rotation, does this addition make them a World Series contender again? Also, how will the new additions to the Brew Crew’s prospect pipeline help them in the immediate future?
Later, Jordan and Jake talk about the New York Yankees and Cody Bellinger reuniting after his impressive 2025 season in pinstripes on a five-year, $162.5 million contract. The move further solidifies the Yankees’ belief in their offense, essentially running it back from last season—but could Brian Cashman and company have one more front-page deal before Spring Training kicks off? The guys then close the show by making their picks for this week’s edition of The Good, The Bad & The Uggla.
2:03 – The Opener: Freddy Peralta to the Mets
29:43 – Jordan’s Prospect Hut: The Brewers’ return
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38:28 – Yankees re-sign Cody Bellinger
52:00 – Scott Boras Scoreboard update
54:37 – The Good
1:01:13 – The Bad
1:06:44 – The Uggla
Photo by Vincent Carchietta/Getty Images Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
(Photo by Vincent Carchietta/Getty Images Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros react to a chaotic AFCON final and ask the uncomfortable question: was the spectacle a nightmare for the sport? The guys break down what went wrong, what it says about tournament organization, and why moments like this matter for global soccer’s credibility. Christian and Alexis dive into viral territory as iShowSpeed encounters his first ultra fans in Algeria — and quickly learns that not every football culture rolls out the red carpet.
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Next, Copa90 creative director Shawn Francis joins the show to talk World Cup 2026 coming to America, why he’s completely flipped his stance on MLS’s new schedule, and what the league needs to do to actually become “cool.”
The episode wraps with a look at Manchester City’s recent slump and whether Pep Guardiola has the answers to pull City out of their funk.
Timestamps:
(8:00) – Was the AFCON final an embarrassing moment for the sport?
(26:30) – IShowSpeed encounters Algerian ultras
(34:15) – Shawn Francis joins The Cooligans
(1:11:15) – Can Pep save Man City again or has he lost control?
It is officially the offseason, unfortunately, but just because the confetti has been cleaned up does not mean the conversations about the CFP have stopped. In fact it is quite the opposite. The difference is these conversations are not about what is happening on the field. The debate continues to rage on as commissioners discuss potential expansion of the CFP. Andy Staples and Ross Dellenger discuss what happened in the meetings that were held in the week leading up to the National Championship. The Big Ten and the SEC seem to be at an impasse of how much they want the College Football Playoff to expand. With the deadline fast approaching, no decision appears in sight. Ross explains why these two commissioners hold all the power for this decision.
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Then, the guys shift from one hot button topic to the next. The transfer portal. Specifically one athlete. Darian Mensah. The Duke quarterback has officially entered the transfer portal even though he has a signed NIL contract with Duke. The Blue Devils are suing Mensah to prevent him from leaving. It is expected he will head to Miami to be their new quarterback. Andy and Ross discuss the differences between this situation and the one with Demond Williams and Washington. They share why it seems like Mensah has a good chance to win this case and how schools can prevent these situations in the future. Plus, they dive into Adidas’ potential impact in this situation and their overall aggressive handling of NIL. Also, Duke wide receiver Cooper Barkate has entered the portal as well, with Miami being a favorite to land him too.
Later, the big news in college athletics is no longer about football. It is over in the college basketball world as Charles Bediako has temporarily been granted the ability to return to Alabama basketball. There is a hearing next week that will determine whether or not he can return full-time. Bediako previously played at Alabama and entered the 2023 NBA Draft. Although he has never played in an NBA regular season game, he has played on multiple Summer League and G League teams. Andy and Ross discuss Bediako being allowed to play college basketball again and the impact this could have on college athletics.
The season is over but the news never stops with College Football Enquirer.
Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti & SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
They’re going with former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who had been a popular name in this year’s coaching cycle, fielding interview requests from most teams with head-coach vacancies.
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Baltimore announced the news on Thursday. Minter, who’s the fourth head coach in Ravens history, has agreed to a five-year contract with the team, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
This will be Minter’s first time as a head coach, coming off two successful years as the Chargers’ defensive coordinator. Minter had worked under Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh for the past four years, most recently as the defensive coordinator in L.A. and, previously, at the University of Michigan.
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Minter had one other previous NFL coaching stint as an assistant with the Ravens as a defensive assistant and defensive backs coach between the 2017 and 2020 seasons, so there is familiarity there between him and the organization.
The Ravens job comes with an MVP quarterback, a veteran core and one of the most respected front offices in sports. It also comes with high expectations, as the Harbaugh ouster just showed.
Can Jesse Minter break through with Lamar Jackson after John Harbaugh didn’t?
To understand what Minter is supposed to bring to the table, it’s best to understand the circumstances that led to Harbaugh’s exit.
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Harbaugh was the second-longest-tenured head coach in the NFL and immediately jumped to the top of several teams’ wish lists the second he became available. In 2023 and 2024, his teams went a combined 25-9, but fell short of the Super Bowl both times. In 2025, injuries and dysfunction saw the Ravens go 8-9, but still finish a missed field goal — or a questionable call — short of the playoffs.
It’s not often you see a team let a coach go after posting the kind of success Harbaugh had with Jackson, even with their postseason struggles. That might be because Harbaugh’s firing didn’t seem as much about past results as it did internal tension.
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported a key pressure point was Harbaugh’s refusal to move on from offensive coordinator Todd Monken. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport claimed Harbaugh had lost the Ravens locker room, Jackson included. ESPN’s Adam Schefter contradicted that last idea, pointing to the emotional reaction from Ravens players to Harbaugh’s firing.
That’s a lot of noise for an organization that usually prioritizes harmony from the locker room to the front office, even if the Ravens were still winning (in the regular season) up until 2025. And so, Harbaugh was let go, which might have happened several years ago had Jackson not turned into an MVP.
Replacing Harbaugh is a formidable task. The only seasons the Ravens haven’t made the playoffs since Jackson became a starter were sabotaged by injuries; a stumble in Year 1 would be inexcusable. And the Jackson-Harbaugh era was regularly criticized for underperforming in the playoffs. That’s going to need to be different, too.
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Above all, this new coach is going to need to be on the same page with Jackson from their first meeting.
Despite their 2025 struggles, the Ravens still have a talented roster. Now we’ll see what a new coaching staff can do for an organization suddenly running very low on excuses.
Championship weekend is on the horizon and we have Matt Harmon and Joel Smyth here to get you ready. The two preview both championship games and provide their favorite matchups and prop bets along the way. Smyth caps off the show with his top-5 fantasy free agents and best landing spots that could maximize their potential.
(5:30) #2 Patriots @ #1 Broncos
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(31:15) #5 Rams @ #1 Seahawks
(52:35) Joel’s fantasy free agent best fits
Championship weekend is on the horizon and we have Matt Harmon and Joel Smyth here to get you ready. The two preview both championship games and provide their favorite matchups and prop bets along the way. Smyth caps off the show with his top-5 fantasy free agents and best landing spots that could maximize their potential.
How will the Baltimore Ravens fare with new head coach Jesse Minter? Yahoo Sports’ Andrew Siciliano, Charles Robinson and Ben Fawkes break down that blockbuster signing before previewing conference championship weekend with battles between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos and the Los Angeles Rams visiting the Seattle Seahawks. The crew closes things out with a peak behind the curtain into the intricacies of NFL MVP voting before discussing their “One More Thing”.
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(4:10) – Ravens hire Jesse Minter
(9:45) – Patriots @ Broncos preview
(26:40) – Rams @ Seahawks preview
(48:08) – NFL MVP finalists announced
(1:03:50) – One More Thing
Will Jesse Minter lead the Ravens back to the playoffs in 2026? (Photo by Tony Ding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney came to his Friday news conference with receipts. He rifled through them while accusing Ole Miss and its new head coach, Pete Golding, of tampering.
The serious allegations Swinney leveled arrive in the wake of former Cal linebacker Luke Ferrelli committing to and signing with the Tigers out of the transfer portal before re-entering the portal and joining the Rebels.
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While Swinney blamed “the adults” and said he feels sorry for Ferrelli, he compared the whole situation to “having an affair on your honeymoon.” Swinney explained that Ferrelli had already moved to Clemson, bought a car, rented an apartment and attended class for a week.
Actually, class is where Swinney said Ferrelli received a text from Golding, who was asking what the linebacker’s buyout was at Clemson. Ole Miss ultimately offered Ferrelli a two-year, $2 million contract, according to Swinney.
“I want to challenge all of those coaches that have reached out to me [about other instances of tampering]. I want to challenge all of ’em,” he said. “You need to step up and call it out. Otherwise don’t complain.
“You either step up and you be an example to young coaches in this profession and be people of integrity or just shut your mouth and don’t complain again. That’s what I would say to all the coaches out there because I know this has happened, and we’re never going to get this under control until we start having some consequences.”
Dabo unpacks timeline
While referring to prepared documents, Swinney called out dates and times regarding communication between Ferrelli, Clemson and Ole Miss.
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Here’s the timeline he described…
The beginning of the saga
Jan. 4: Clemson general manager Jordan Sorrells had his first conversation with Ferrelli’s agent.
Jan. 5: Ferrelli showed up to Clemson for his official visit. Swinney said this is when he first met the soon-to-be third-year linebacker. Swinney explained that Ferrelli and his dad were coming off a portal visit to Ole Miss.
“I said, ‘How was the visit?’” Swinney recounted Friday. “And his dad said, ‘Not good.’ He said it was a mess, it was unorganized, it was chaos. The building was a mess. Nobody knew what was going on. And I was like, ‘Well, I look forward to y’all seeing Clemson tomorrow.’”
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Jan. 6: Ferrelli took his visit to Clemson, and he, along with his agent and dad, verbally accepted the terms of the offer and made a commitment to the Tigers.
“We were going to take one linebacker. … So we got our linebacker,” Swinney said. “We canceled all the visits of all the other guys that we were going to schedule to come in throughout the rest of the week because [we] were done.”
Later that day, Ferrelli and his dad flew back to California.
Jan. 7: Ferrelli signed his financial aid agreement with Clemson.
Jan. 11: Ferrelli moved to Clemson.
“Rents an apartment, buys a car, goes to class for a week. He’s in training for a week, team meeting, position meeting, all that,” Swinney said.
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Jan. 14: Ferrelli’s agent called Sorrells and let the Clemson GM know that Ole Miss has been pursuing Ferrelli. Swinney said that the agent assured Sorrells that Ferrelli had no intention of leaving Clemson.
A text from Golding; calls from QBs Trinidad Chambliss, Jaxson Dart
Jan. 15: Sorrells informed Swinney about the conversation he had with Ferrelli’s agent the previous night. Swinney then told Sorrells to contact Ole Miss GM Austin Thomas.
“I said, ‘Listen, this guy has been a head coach for four weeks,’” Swinney said, alluding to Golding, who took over for Lane Kiffin after Kiffin took the head-coaching job at LSU. “I said, ‘You reach out to the GM. I’m going to give him some grace, and you let him know that we know what’s going on. And if he doesn’t cease communication, I’m going to turn him in.’ I really thought that would be the end of it, but it wasn’t.”
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Swinney said Sorrells got in touch with Thomas, Ole Miss’ GM, and reiterated Clemson’s stance on the situation. Thomas told Sorrells that he communicated to Ferrelli’s agent that he wanted no part of the engagement, and that his relationship with Sorrells was more important to him than the recruitment of Ferrelli, per Swinney.
Thomas added, though, that “Pete Golding just does what he does,” according to Swinney.
Linebacker Luke Ferrelli (41), pictured while playing for the California Golden Bears, is now with Ole Miss after a complicated transfer journey. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Thearon W. Henderson via Getty Images)
Later that afternoon, Sorrells and Clemson linebackers coach Ben Boulware met with Ferrelli, who told them that Golding texted him the previous morning during his 8 a.m. class.
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“He said the text message said, ‘I know you’re signed. What’s the buyout?’ And he also said that Coach Golding also texted him a picture of a $1 million contract,” Swinney said.
Additionally, Ferrelli noted that Golding had quarterback Trinidad Chambliss talk to him on the phone, and that current New York Giants and former Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart also reached out and called him.
At the time, however, Ferrelli maintained his commitment to Clemson.
When everything unraveled for Clemson
Jan. 16: Clemson held a staff meeting on the final day of the portal window. That morning, Ferrelli called his position coach, Boulware, and told him Ole Miss had reached out again, this time doubling its offer to two years, $2 million.
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That afternoon, Sorrells spoke with Ferrelli’s agent, who confirmed that Golding had continued to communicate with Ferrelli and had raised the offer.
“The agent communicated that if we were to add a second year at a million dollars to the already agreed upon deal with [Ferrelli], then they would gladly give us whatever we need in order to turn Ole Miss in,” Swinney said.
Sorrells rejected that arrangement, per Swinney. Then he talked with Ferrelli outside the facility, and Ferrelli still confirmed that he was planning on playing at Clemson.
But hours later, Sorrells got a call from Clemson’s compliance office, telling him that Ferrelli was requesting to re-enter the transfer portal. At this point, Swinney said he called Clemson athletic director Graham Neff and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, who Swinney said called SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.
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Eventually, Sorrells and a Clemson coach turned up to Ferrelli’s apartment, of which Ferrelli was in the driveway and told them he was going to Ole Miss.
Ferrelli later notified Boulware and Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen that he was hitting the portal before relaying the same news to Swinney himself.
Dabo bashes Ole Miss, Golding for ‘tampering 301’
Once Swinney finished running through the receipts, he opined — about the situation and, more generally, about college football and its lack of regulation during the NIL and transfer portal era.
The two-time national champion head coach did so fearlessly.
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“There’s tampering, and then there’s blatant tampering,” Swinney said. “Tampering 101 is when you’re talking to kids who aren’t in the portal. Tampering 201 is when you’ve already negotiated the deal when the kid’s not in the portal. Tampering 301 is when you got a kid who’s gone in the portal, signed somewhere, moved there, going to classes, and you’re texting ’em while they’re in class.
“That’s like a whole ‘nother level of tampering, and it’s total hypocrisy because all this is going on while they on the other side are trying to fight their defensive end from going in the portal. They have accused publicly others of tampering with their roster and their players while they are over here tampering.”
Swinney added: “We have a broken system, and if there are no consequences for tampering, then we have no rules and we have no governance. It’s really just that simple.”
Swinney emphasized that he’s not just discussing a linebacker at Clemson or trying to get anyone fired.
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“But let me tell you what it is about,” he said. “It’s about the next kid, and it’s about the message that is being sent if this blatant tampering is allowed to happen without any consequences.
“This is about protecting our program. This is about college football. That’s what this is about.”
