Justin Verlander has agreed to a one-year, $13 million deal to return to the Detroit Tigers, the team announced Tuesday.
Of Verlander’s $13 million salary, $11 million will be deferred.
Verlander has not pitched for the Tigers since he was dealt to the Houston Astros at the 2017 trade deadline. During his time with the franchise, he was a six-time All-Star, the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year and the winner of the 2011 AL Cy Young and AL MVP awards.
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He responded to the news of his return with a social media video montage of his time with the Tigers captioned “Back where it all started.”
After his time with the Tigers, Verlander spend parts of five seasons with the Astros, winning two more Cy Youngs and two World Series titles.
He then moved on to the New York Mets to start 2023 before being traded back to the Astros at that season’s trade deadline. He also spent the 2024 season with Houston.
Verlander signed with the Giants in free agency before last season. The veteran right-hander went 4-11 with a 3.85 ERA and 1.362 WHIP in 152 innings with San Francisco.
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Verlander, who has 266 career wins, now joins a Tigers pitching staff that will also feature Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and an apparently very excited Tarik Skubal.
The Tigers will look to benefit from Verlander’s postseason experience after reaching the ALDS each of the past two seasons. He has 226 playoff innings pitched, with a 1.12 WHIP and 244 strikeouts in 38 postseason appearances.
It’s rematch time for Team USA and Team Canada in the women’s ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Team Canada defeated the U.S. back during their gold medal game back in 2022, and they’ll face each other once again this Tuesday for a group stage game in Milan. The U.S. and Canada are the only countries to win gold since women’s ice hockey was added to the Olympics back in 1998, and you can catch the rivalry on the ice this Tuesday starting at 2:10 p.m. ET on Peacock and USA. The game will also re-air on USA at 11 p.m.
Read on for a complete schedule of every Team USA women’s hockey game at this year’s Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, a rundown of who is playing, and how to watch all the action. And if you want to learn even more about every event at this year’s Winter Games, here’s a guide to everything you need to know about the Milan Cortina Games.
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How to watch the Team USA vs. Canada Women’s Ice Hockey game at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 10
Time: 2:10 p.m. ET, re-air at 11 p.m.
Location: Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena
TV channel: USA
Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, and more
Where can I stream Ice Hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Where to watch Ice Hockey on TV:
The women’s ice hockey game between Team USA and Canada is airing live on Peacock and USA at 2:10 p.m this Tuesday, and it will re-air on USA again at 11 p.m. You can stream USA on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more.
For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Who is on the Team USA women’s hockey team?
The athletes on Team USA’s women’s team are:
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Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho/Seattle Torrent)
Kendall Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights, Ill./Minnesota Frost)
Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn./Minnesota Frost)
Cayla Barnes (Eastvale, Calif./Seattle Torrent)
Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass./Seattle Torrent)
Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich./Boston Fleet)
Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn./Minnesota Frost)
Caroline Harvey (Salem, N.H./University of Wisconsin)
Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park, Ill./University of Minnesota)
“Just get some time off. Time’s the best healer,” Maye told reporters on Tuesday. “Definitely just need time off. Nothing that needs anything to be done. Just some time away and time to get some rest and time away from football.”
Heading into the Super Bowl, Maye was limited in practice with a shoulder injury he suffered in the AFC championship game win over the Denver Broncos. On the team’s initial injury report, the 23-year-old quarterback was listed as questionable with a shoulder injury and an illness that caused him to miss a practice.
Despite being removed from the injury report and telling reporters he felt well heading into the game, Maye struggled against Seattle. He completed 27-of-43 passes for 295 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and a fumble, with most of his passing yards coming in the fourth quarter. Maye’s second interception was returned for a touchdown and all but closed the game.
“I think it’s a case of having one hit in the AFC championship game that was just kind of unfortunate,” Maye said. “Unfortunate timing, the two weeks (before the Super Bowl) was great to have off to have a chance to be out there for my guys. You can’t blame things on injuries. Things happen like this all the time in the league. … You can’t (blame) it on one little thing, the shoulder. … I was feeling like I was able to make throws in the game and was myself.”
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Maye had a strong second NFL season, making his second Pro Bowl and being named a second-team All-Pro while also finishing second in the MVP race. The Patriots ended their three-season playoff drought and flipped their record from the 4-13 finishes from the past two seasons to 14-3 and AFC East champions in 2025.
The 2025 season just concluded, but Maye is already eager to begin preparing for 2026.
“Ten weeks until we’re back here,” Maye said in a final message to Patriots fans. “That don’t sound too far away. It turns around quickly on you. I’m looking forward to it.”
Ashley Farquharson made U.S. Olympic history on Tuesday with a bronze-medal run to secure the nation’s second medal in women’s luge.
She needed a dramatic comeback to make it happen.
Farquharson entered Tuesday’s competition in fifth pace after two of four runs on Monday in an event where the times of all four runs are combined to determine the standings.
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Germany’s Julia Taubitz and Merle Malou Fräbel were in control in first and second place as the country sought its eighth straight gold medal and fourth consecutive gold-silver finish in the event. But Fräbel had a rocky third run and dropped into eighth place, opening the door for other competitors to move onto the podium.
Farquharson took advantage. Latvia’s Elina Bota moved into silver-medal position from bronze with her third run, and Farquharson jumped from fifth place to bronze-medal position with her third, moving past Italy’s Verana Hofer in the process.
Farquharson entered her fourth and final run knowing she was in control of her place on the podium. When she crossed the finish line with a clean run and a time of 52.909, she knew that she’d secured at least a bronze medal ahead of Hofer, who finished in fourth place.
Bota held on for silver with her final run, while Taubitz earned Germany’s eighth straight gold medal in the event.
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Farquharson, meanwhile, was elated as she joined Erin Hamlin (bronze, Sochi 2014) as the only U.S. women to medal in the history of the event.
MILAN — Four weeks ago, Maxim Naumov sat on the rinkside couch in St. Louis, shoulders heaving as he gave into the weight of grief. He’d just finished one of the two routines that would soon send him to the 2026 Olympics in Milan. In his hand, he held a family picture of himself as a child, holding the hands of his parents. It was a poignant scene, because Max was the only one in that photo here to appreciate the moment.
Naumov’s parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, died a year ago in a plane crash, two of so many lost in an accident that devastated an entire sport. Max rededicated himself to his craft in the weeks after the crash, and he’ll carry the burden of the tragedy for the rest of his life … starting with these Olympics.
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One year later, the shock has subsided, but the pain persists. Every figure skater on the Olympic figure skating team carries the trauma of that terrible night, none more than Max Naumov.
A control tower is seen behind a memorial set up in memory of the victims of a midair collision between an American Airlines flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on February 2, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
(ROBERTO SCHMIDT via Getty Images)
The tragedy of Flight 5342
The details remain heartbreaking and horrifying even now.
Flying in and out of Reagan National, whose runways line the west bank of the Potomac River, is tricky and even treacherous on clear days. Pilots must navigate the restricted and crowded airspace around Washington, D.C., with aircraft from multiple airports in close proximity at all times. Coordinating so many aircraft in the same small space at the same time requires skill and precision from both pilots and air traffic control.
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On Jan. 29, 2025, American Airlines Flight 5342, bound from Wichita into Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., was on its final approach shortly before 9 p.m. The sun had gone down several hours before, and the lights of the city stretched as far as the pilots could see. But as the plane was approaching its runway from the southeast over the Potomac, a Black Hawk helicopter on an annual evaluation collided with the plane, sending both aircraft plunging into the Potomac nearly 300 feet below.
Twenty-eight members of the skating community were on Flight 5342, including several skaters, coaches and parents from the Washington Figure Skating Club and the Skating Club of Boston. The skaters were young and promising, talented amateurs who’d stayed in Wichita after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships for additional clinics.
Doug Zeghibe, CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, had gone to bed early that Wednesday night, because he was fighting off the flu. But he was soon awakened by the sound of his phone blowing up with calls, texts and messages. The club maintains a phone tree of management and members, and group texts sprang up as members tried to determine who exactly was on the flight.
Zeghibe remembers getting texts with messages like, I’m OK. And he would fire back, Great, you’re OK. Are you OK because you were on that flight, or are you OK because you weren’t on that flight?
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“It was a pretty anxiety-ridden night, I have to say,” Zeghibe told Yahoo Sports recently.
Slowly, the true horror of the night became clear, and the news was as bad as it could possibly be. All 64 passengers and crew aboard Flight 5342 died, as did all three crewmembers on the helicopter. The crash was the deadliest on American soil since November 2001, and the skating community suddenly had to reckon with devastating loss.
“They were family,” Zeghibe said. “These members and parents and coaches, they were with us six days a week, the coaches seven days a week.”
Members of the skating community gathered in Washington D.C., on March 2, 2025, to pay tribute to those lost onboard Flight 5342. (Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
(Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
‘They lit up the rink’
Figure skating clubs are skating’s grass-roots organizations, operating under the U.S. Figure Skating guidelines and bringing skating to youth and adults all over the country. The Skating Club of Boston dates back 115 years, and counts among its members illustrious alumni like Kenley Albright, who won a gold medal 70 years ago in Cortina. The Washington Figure Skating Club is the oldest and largest in the DMV (District-Maryland-Virginia) area, with over a thousand members.
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Zeghibe arrived at the Boston club’s headquarters to find local, national and international media, from the BBC to Brazil, gathered and looking to learn more about the six people connected to the club who had been on board the plane. “You suddenly realized then that it was more than just the personal impact of what had happened to our community,” he said. “This was a global news story.”
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, the Washington Figure Skating Club opened two of its rinks to skaters to process their grief on the ice. They set up small memorials for their lost members, and brought guest books where skaters could write their remembrances of their friends and teammates. The skaters who had been at the clinics had promising futures, and to see that future snuffed out simply crushed so many of their friends and coaches who hadn’t been on that flight.
“They just, you know … they kind of lit up the rink,” Washington club president Heather Nemier said recently. “They were always people you look forward to seeing skate.”
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In a tragic echo, the flight wasn’t even the first plane crash to devastate the figure skating community. The entire United States figure skating team, including many members from the Skating Club of Boston, died in a February 1961 plane crash near Brussels.
“You felt this heavy, dark cloud. You knew something horrible had happened that nobody was talking about,” he recalled. “Myself, and others who are older and lived through it and lost friends, we all made the group decision that this has to be talked about, that we can’t leave folks alone to mourn.”
In the days and weeks after the crash, U.S. Figure Skating and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee arranged for mental health support and grief counseling. The Washington skating club connected its skaters with therapists and provided therapy dogs to help its members through their trauma.
The skating community helped its own wherever it could. In March, dozens of skaters, including current Olympians Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin, gathered in Washington, for “Legacy on Ice,” a benefit to aid families and first responder organizations. Tributes at this year’s 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis included the Skaters’ Cookbook, a project planned in part to honor two sisters who died on Flight 5342.
(NTSB)
‘Systemic failures
An NTSB report released just days before the start of the Milano Cortina Olympics declared the crash was the result of “systemic failures in airspace design, safety oversight and risk management by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Army.” The report indicated the problems in the D.C. airways which led to the crash were longstanding ones, including the pathways of helicopters and the depth and sufficiency of communication between ground controllers, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
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The NTSB also faulted air traffic control, noting “the high workload during a period of elevated traffic reduced air traffic control’s ability to monitor developing conflicts and provide safety alerts.” Only one flight controller was working both helicopter and plane traffic in the area.
The board issued dozens of safety recommendations to the FFA, the Army and several other government agencies. Most painfully, the NTSB determined the crash was 100 percent preventable, and a $400 GPS device could have given pilots nearly a full minute’s warning prior to the collision.
“It was just, it turns out,” Zeghibe said, “a needless and avoidable accident.”
Max Naumov poses for a portrait after being named to the 2026 United States Figure Skating Olympic team. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
(Jamie Squire via Getty Images)
Max Naumov’s triumph
In the year since the accident, the skating community has healed, but scars remain. “I think we have truly come together in ways that we never would have seen because of this, and it has become really a tight-knit community,” Nemier said. “They’re very supportive of each other, especially when they go to competitions, and it’s definitely been a bonding experience for us.”
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No skater has faced a harder journey back from the night of Jan. 29, 2025, than Max Naumov. One of his final conversations with his parents involved his chances for making the 2026 Olympic team, and in St. Louis, he put the finishing touches on a season that culminated in an Olympic berth.
“I find that in times of really difficult emotional stress, if you can just push yourself a little bit more and almost think, What if I can do it? What if, despite everything that happened to me, I can still go out there and do it?” he said in St. Louis. “That’s where you find strength, and that’s where you grow as a person. And that’s exactly what’s been getting me through every day.”
“Being able to see him push through even the thoughts of whether or not he wanted to continue skating, that was inspirational,” said fellow skater Jimmy Ma, who trains with Naumov in Boston. “I’m very proud of him.
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“Max has always been a hardworking kid, but you see him reapproach his training and his commitment to the Olympic team. … It was always about him and his parents working together for him to make the team. They were a unit. To watch Max continue that effort as a team, but with both of his parents having to be there with him in spirit and not physically, I’m just thrilled for him.”
He paused a moment and added one more thought. “I do wonder, is this like — I won’t even say a silver lining — is this a small silver string in this whole horrific year?”
On Tuesday, in his first moment on Olympic ice, skating to the somber melodies of Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20, his expression remained focused, resolute. He hit his marks — quad salchow, triple axel, triple lutz and more — and when he was done, he looked to the heavens and spoke as, all around him, the audience stood and applauded. His final score: 85.65, his best of the season and more than enough to qualify him for Friday’s free skate.
“I felt almost like a hand on my back pushing me forward, feeling my parents guiding me from one element to another, and just kind of keeping me grounded,” he said after. “Almost like a chess piece on a chess board, from one element to another. Unlike any other feeling I’ve ever felt before.”
With the World Cup just four months away, much of coach Mauricio Pochettino’s U.S. roster has fallen into place. Barring injury, it’s going to feature Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and the others who have formed the foundation through friendlies and tournaments the past six months.
Sure, questions remain about several of the 26 slots, but when the Group D opener against Paraguay kicks off June 12 at SoFi Stadium, a comforting familiarity will prevail.
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There is, though, an intriguing candidate without any senior international matches on his portfolio — a Hawaiian-born, German American teenager standing 6-foot-4 and starting at center back in the Bundesliga.
Noahkai Banks has been invited to exactly one U.S. training camp and been in uniform for one match. It’s not exactly World Cup material. But as Pochettino narrows his player pool, Banks is the apparent lone prospect (aside from those vying for third-string goalkeeper) without any national team game experience.
Pochettino will post his March roster in five weeks. Chris Richards and Tim Ream anchor the central defense corps, with Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson and Auston Trusty deep in the mix. Will the 19-year-old Banks receive an invitation next month?
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Despite no caps to his name, he’s got a strong case. Each of his past 15 appearances for Augsburg has been as a starter, and he has played in 17 of 21 Bundesliga matches this season.
Pochettino has called him a “massive talent.”
Since his only call-up in September, Banks said “you’re always a bit in touch with the national team. It doesn’t have to be Pochettino in person, but the national team in general.”
Augsberg’s Noahkai Banks is starting weekly in Germany as the U.S. weighs its final World Cup roster options.
(picture alliance via Getty Images)
Pochettino’s effusive comments about Banks got back to the player.
“I’ve read it because my mom has sent it into the family group chat; she reads everything,” he said Tuesday during a video call with reporters. “It has been a great compliment, but I know I have to work a lot to get there. I know I’m not there yet.”
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With the March camp on the horizon — and the last chance to make a first-hand impression on Pochettino — Banks said he has not given much thought to a possible call-up.
“A lot of people always think that as players, we think about what’s happening there and there,” he said of international duty. “But for me, it’s really important to just focus on the games, because I know if I play well, the rest will come by itself. So it’s really about focusing on the next game for me and playing as good as possible, because the rest will follow.”
Beyond Banks’ capacity to help the U.S. right away, Pochettino must weigh another consideration: keeping Banks in a U.S. uniform. Even though he has played exclusively for U.S. youth teams, including the 2023 Under-17 World Cup squad, he remains eligible for Germany.
“I’ve been in touch with Germany before, to be honest,” Banks said. “You can’t tell what happens in the future, but at the moment, there’s not a thought of switching because I’m happy with the U.S.”
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He called the U-17 World Cup in Indonesia “one of the best experiences in my life.”
Banks’ only senior call-up came in September. He wasn’t in uniform against South Korea and was on the bench (but didn’t play) against Japan.
“I was pretty nervous when I got into camp, because I was 18 years old at the moment, so I thought maybe the older guys will think, ‘Who’s that? What is he doing here?’” Banks said. “But it was great, to be honest. It was incredible. Players like Pulisic, [Tim] Weah helped me a lot.”
Pochettino also provided guidance.
“Because he has been a center back back in the days, he knows the position very well, and he has helped me with small details like positioning and stuff like this — just the small things which make the difference at the highest level,” Banks said. “He gave me some tips, and I hope I can do what he told me in the future.”
Weeks after Banks’ first senior camp, his plans to play at the U-20 World Cup were dashed by Augsburg, which declined to release him because the tournament fell outside an official international window. With Banks still finding his way at Augsburg, Pochettino did not invite him to the October and November camps.
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Like many U.S. players over the years with multiple eligibility, Banks’ father is a former U.S. serviceman and his mother is German (and Spanish). They met when Banks’ mom, Nadine, came to the United States to attend college and play basketball. (“She tore her ACL three times,” he said.)
His father Cedric’s military commitments took him to Hawaii, where Noahkai was born. The family then lived in the Washington, D.C., area for a few years, and after his parents separated, Noahkai moved with his mother to Germany.
“I traveled to America a lot of times to visit my dad or my dad’s family side,” he said. “My dad was in the military for 25 years, and now he lives there [in Washington] and he helps kids from the street.”
He grew up in the Bavarian town of Dietmannsried, near the borders with both Austria and Switzerland, and at age 7, entered Augsburg’s youth system. His development carried him to the club’s under-19 squad and then the second team in the German fourth division.
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He idolized Germany’s Jérôme Boateng, a fellow center back. “Also [Lionel] Messi,” he said with a smile, “but he’s not in my position. That’s the most obvious answer, because he’s just the best player of all time.”
Banks’ first-team debut with Augsburg came in January 2025, and he finished the season with eight appearances, including three starts.
This season, Banks has worked his way into the starting lineup. He is sixth on the team in minutes played and ranks second or third in passing accuracy, long-ball accuracy and tackles per 90 minutes. (He’s also first in yellow cards, which resulted in a suspension for 13th-place Augsburg’s upset of first-place Bayern Munich recently.)
“It has been a great year so far, because I didn’t expect to play that much, to be absolutely honest,” Banks said. “The coaches have given me a lot of trust, a lot of minutes. From time to time, I got more confident with the team, with my teammates, with the players, with the tactics.”
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Augsburg has been in the Bundesliga since 2011-12 but hasn’t finished in the top 10 since 2014-15.
Banks said he balances his German and American backgrounds.
“I have both in me,” he said. “It’s a mix.”
He has a fondness for U.S. entertainment, particularly during these cold winter months.
“‘The Equalizer,’ ‘Man on Fire,’ because I love Denzel Washington,” he said. “He’s my favorite actor. Kevin Hart [too]. All kinds of movies. I’m watching a lot because the weather is just bad.”
The weather will be a lot warmer in the U.S. this summer, when the World Cup takes place. That, though, remains far back in his mind.
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“It’s not the right moment to think about the World Cup for me, because we have a lot of games left here [at Augsburg],” he said. “We want to win those games because we have goals for the season. So I really just focus — because a lot of players say it, but I really mean it — I really just focus on the games we have here.
“Then,” he added, “let’s see what happens in the summer.”
Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum told reporters Tuesday he’s “feeling good” 39 weeks into his recovery from a torn Achilles that ended his 2024-25 campaign in heartbreaking fashion.
But he didn’t tip his hand whether he’d play for the Celtics this season.
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“I’m feeling good. It was good to be a part of practice yesterday with the Maine G-League guys. Today is 39 weeks, so it’s been a long journey,” Tatum said, per Celtics reporter Noa Dalzell.
Then he added: “And it’s just like the progression of rehab. … It doesn’t mean I’m coming back or not.”
Tatum’s comments followed a Sunday report from ESPN’s Shams Charania that the six-time All-Star had been participating in controlled 5-on-5 scrimmages with coaches.
The team briefly sent Tatum to their G League affiliate in Maine on Monday for part of a practice, too. After the practice, he headed back to Boston to continue his rehab.
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Tatum is still working his way back after suffering the Achilles injury last May during an Eastern Conference semifinals series with the New York Knicks. Tatum has more boxes to check during his recovery. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported on Jan. 29 that Tatum is considering sitting out for the entire 2025-26 season.
Charania reported Tatum wants to come back as close to 100% as possible. Last season, Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6 assists.
Part of Tatum’s reluctance to return has been how well the Celtics have played without him. At 34-19, the Celtics are neck-and-neck with the New York Knicks for second place in the Eastern Conference right now.
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“That’s something I contemplate every day,” Tatum said on the Pivot Podcast. “More so about the team, if or when I do come back this season, they would’ve played 50 some-odd games without me. So they have an identity this year or things that they felt have clicked for them, and it’s been successful, right, third or second team in the East up to this point. So there is a thought in my head that’s like, ‘How does that work or hows does that look with me integrating myself off an injury and 50-60 games into a season?’ There could obviously be some challenges, and it is a thought, like, ‘Damn? Do I come back or should I wait?’ It’s something that I honestly, recently in the last two weeks or so, just kind of contemplate every single day.”
Jaylen Brown is also in the midst of a career season. He’s averaging 29.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Brown was recently selected to his fifth All-Star Game.
The Washington Commanders left three seats open at Tuesday’s press conference as a way to pay homage to The Washington Post’s sports department, which was recently shut down.
The sports media world was shocked at the dismantling of The Post’s sports department last week. Local teams in the area are coming out to show their support for those staff members who lost their jobs.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn took some time to show his appreciation for those who covered his team for the Post and mentioned how he was “absolutely bummed to hear about The Washington Post sports section.”
Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni gave his own tribute to The Post during a video call with media members. Toboni talked about his own experience growing up in San Francisco and not being able to imagine access to the San Francisco Chronicle’s sports section suddenly being taken away.
Last week, shortly after the news broke about the shutdown of the sports department, Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery recognized Bailey Johnson, who covered the team and confirmed that she was one of the journalists being laid off by The Post.
“I would be remiss not to say something about Bailey not being here today,” Carbery said. “Getting to know her over the last 2 1/2 years, yeah, I’m just thinking about her. And also know wherever her next stop is, whether it’s in the DC area or somewhere else, know she’ll do a fantastic job. She’s an incredible person and really, really good at what she does.”
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For decades, The Washington Post’s sports department had been heralded for its level of journalistic integrity, and its closure has dealt a tough blow to sports media both locally and nationally.
With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training this week, our offseason grades roll on with the National League Central. All five teams in this division were active in different ways throughout the winter, with the Cubs, Reds and Pirates making meaningful upgrades to their rosters, the Cardinals embarking on a full-blown rebuild and the reigning champion Brewers executing a series of Brewers-like maneuvers.
This is also a division that has stayed active in the days leading up to camps opening in Arizona and Florida, and we might see a few more moves before Opening Day. But the bulk of the business appears to be behind us. So what did these NL Central clubs accomplish this winter?
Significant outgoing free agents: C Danny Jansen, 1B Rhys Hoskins, SP Jose Quintana, SP Erick Fedde, SP Shelby Miller
Major moves:
Retained SP Brandon Woodruff via qualifying offer
Acquired RP Angel Zerpa from Royals for RP Nick Mears, OF Isaac Collins
Acquired INF/OF Jett Williams, SP Brandon Sproat from Mets for SP Freddy Peralta
Acquired SP Kyle Harrison, SP Shane Drohan, INF David Hamilton from Red Sox for INF Caleb Durbin, INF Andruw Monasterio, C/INF Anthony Seigler, Competitive Balance Round B Pick
Signed OF Akil Baddoo to a 1-year deal
Offseason grade: C+
Doubting Milwaukee’s operation might be naive at this point. But for a franchise that’s still looking to break through for its first World Series appearance in decades, it is simply disappointing to see the roster in an objectively lesser state than it was when last season concluded.
That’s not to say the three fascinating swaps won’t yield any positive returns. Zerpa, Sproat, Harrison and even Drohan could all impact the major-league club in some form in 2026, and the Brewers often do well to get the most out of pitchers arriving from other orgs. It’s also reasonable to suggest the Brewers might have sold high on Collins and Durbin after their surprising contributions as rookies. But it’s also fair to say that no matter what president of baseball operations Matt Arnold says, third base is an enormous question in the short term, and replacing a legit ace in Peralta is no small task.
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Regardless of Milwaukee’s strategy on the trade market, its complete disregard for free agency is discouraging. Excluding the retention of Woodruff via the qualifying offer, the Brewers have handed out zero guaranteed major-league deals this winter, and they are the only team with that designation (Baddoo received a split deal that does not guarantee him a 26-man roster spot). Splurging in free agency doesn’t always equate to getting better, but Milwaukee’s complete lack of spending stands out this winter, particularly when several other small-market teams spent real dollars.
Tagging Milwaukee with a less-than-stellar hot stove grade doesn’t mean I’m dooming them to a regular season of assured failure, nor will I rule out the possibility of another move or two to round out the roster before Opening Day. The Brewers are still quite good on paper, and there’s reason for optimism on both sides of the ball. But if we’re strictly grading offseason moves, it has been an underwhelming and perplexing winter for the Brew Crew.
Chicago Cubs
Significant outgoing free agents: OF Kyle Tucker, RP Brad Keller, SP Michael Soroka, RP Drew Pomeranz, RP Nate Pearson, UTL Willi Castro
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Major moves:
Signed 3B Alex Bregman to a 5-year deal
Acquired SP Edward Cabrera from Marlins for four prospects
Retained SP Shota Imanaga via qualifying offer
Signed RP Phil Maton to a 2-year deal
Signed RP Hoby Milner to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Caleb Thielbar to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Jacob Webb to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Hunter Harvey to a 1-year deal
Signed 1B Tyler Austin to a 1-year deal
Offseason grade: A-
In signing Alex Bregman to a heavily deferred, five-year, $175 million deal, the Cubs finally flexed the financial might typically associated with a big-market club of their ilk. It’s the kind of addition that carries more weight than just the projected WAR the player brings, as Bregman’s unrivaled baseball IQ and leadership qualities can positively impact the entire roster. Plus, the Cubs finally landing Bregman after a failed pursuit a year ago is a massive organizational victory — and a crucial one in the wake of Kyle Tucker’s departure.
Chicago’s moves on the mound this winter were less straightforward. The offseason started with Chicago retaining left-hander Shota Imanaga via the qualifying offer after declining the three years and $57.75 million remaining on his previous deal, ensuring some short-term rotation stability albeit for a hefty 2026 salary. Rather than spend further in free agency on another starter, the Cubs spent prospect capital to acquire right-hander Edward Cabrera from the Marlins.
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Cabrera arrives with an array of promising pros (three years of team control, huge stuff) and troubling cons (lengthy injury history, limited track record of throwing strikes), and the cost to acquire him notably included outfielder Owen Caissie, who appeared to be in line to replace Tucker in right field as soon as this year. That — in tandem with Bregman taking over third base – has led to a lack of clarity regarding the positional plans for sophomore infielder Matt Shaw and Seiya Suzuki, whom the Cubs seemed to prefer in a DH role last year rather than as an every-day outfielder.
However the position player group shakes out — Austin is another intriguing addition after a prolific half-decade in Japan — manager Craig Counsell should be able to roll out one of the best lineups in baseball. The question is whether adding Cabrera and redesigning the bullpen with a new crop of solid if unspectacular veterans is enough of an upgrade on the mound to vault Chicago into a higher tier of contention in the National League.
With Alex Bregman now leading the offense, the Cubs earned the best offseason grade in the NL Central.
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)
Cincinnati Reds
Significant outgoing free agents: SP Nick Martinez, SP Zack Littell, RP Scott Barlow, OF Austin Hays, OF Miguel Andujar, INF Santiago Espinal
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Major moves:
Signed 3B/DH Eugenio Suarez to a 1-year deal
Signed JJ Bleday to a 1-year deal
Acquired OF Dane Myers from Marlins
Re-signed RP Emilio Pagan to a 2-year deal
Signed RP Caleb Ferguson to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Pierce Johnson to a 1-year deal
Acquired RP Brock Burke from Angels in three-way trade that sent 2B/LF Gavin Lux to Rays
Offseason grade: B
The Reds gradually improved their lineup, defense and bullpen over the course of the offseason — no small feat for a team coming off a postseason berth, but also a reminder that Cincinnati’s roster was notably worse than the rest of last year’s playoff field. After unsurprisingly coming up short in its long-shot, free-agent pursuit of local native Kyle Schwarber, Cincinnati pivoted to a collection of smaller transactions to improve its roster in the aggregate, rather than making one humongous splash.
Adding power was paramount for a club that finished 21st in home runs last season — a particularly paltry output when playing half their games at MLB’s second-most homer-friendly ballpark. Credit to Cincinnati for pouncing when the market didn’t materialize for old friend Eugenio Suarez, who rejoins the Reds coming off a 49-homer season, strengthening a lineup that sorely needed more over-the-fence pop. Concerns about Suarez’s defense will be less relevant for the Reds with Ke’Bryan Hayes entrenched at third base; Suarez can focus on mashing, primarily at DH with the occasional infield cameo.
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Hayes’ acquisition at last year’s deadline is still a bit of a head-scratcher. His contract (guaranteed $30 million over next four seasons) in tandem with his meek offensive output (63 wRC+ the past two seasons) could be cumbersome for a team on a limited budget, but at the very least, he provides elite defense at the hot corner. New outfielder Dane Myers also brings a plus glove with a weak bat, though his defensive impact will be felt less frequently in a part-time role. Exactly how much playing time Myers and fellow new outfielder JJ Bleday will get remains to be seen, but each should help if deployed selectively.
On the mound, Cincinnati had a ton of innings depart in free agency (Martinez, Littell, Suter, Barlow) and decided to focus its rebuilding of the pitching staff on bolstering the bullpen. That began with retaining Pagan as the closer, and adding Johnson, Burke and Ferguson provided manager Terry Francona with a trio of veteran options to call on late in games. Trading Brady Singer, scheduled to make $12.75 million in his final season before free agency, was rumored as a possibility to ease payroll, but the Reds opted to hold on to the right-hander (their 2025 innings leader), ensuring some stability in a rotation that will be counting on several young arms to step up.
On the whole, the Reds achieved modest upgrades across the roster, even if some major questions remain about how the position-player group will fit together. Solid work.
St. Louis Cardinals
Significant outgoing free agents: SP Miles Mikolas
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Major moves:
Acquired BHP Jurrangelo Cijntje, OF Tai Peete, OF Colton Ledbetter, two Competitive Balance Round B picks in three-way trade with Mariners, Rays that sent INF/OF Brendan Donovan to Mariners
Acquired SP Richard Fitts, SP Brandon Clarke from Red Sox for SP Sonny Gray
Acquired SP Hunter Dobbins, SP Yhoiker Fajardo, SP Blake Aita from Red Sox for 1B Willson Contreras
Acquired SP Jack Martinez from D-backs for 3B Nolan Arenado
Signed SP Dustin May to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Ryne Stanek to a 1-year deal
Selected RP Matt Pushard in Rule 5 Draft
Offseason grade: B
The rebuild is on. New president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom did not take any half-measures in his efforts to dramatically turn the page on an era of Cardinals baseball that flamed out into unsustainable mediocrity. The quality of the returns netted in St. Louis’ four major trades ranged wildly in terms of the players and contracts involved, but St. Louis broadly accomplished its goal of flipping its accomplished (and expensive) veterans for future assets.
Considering how far behind the Cardinals have fallen on the mound in recent years, it’s no surprise the four deals focused on adding arms; seven of the nine acquired players are pitchers. The two picks acquired in the Donovan deal should also enhance St. Louis’ ability to reel in a major haul in this summer’s draft, which should add further to a farm system that rates as one of the strongest in baseball.
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Grading offseasons for rebuilding clubs is a tricky task, and it feels fair to judge them based on only how well they achieved their organizational goals; evaluating a team in the Cardinals’ position based on how much they improved their major-league roster doesn’t make much sense. As such, this grade is awarded to St. Louis based on its successful unloading of its most glaring trade candidates in exchange for an intriguing assortment of upside and depth. Rather than slow-playing the painful part of the rebuilding process, executing all of these deals in one winter makes the organizational direction clear. Competing in 2026 might be off the table for the Cards, but there’s enough exciting, young talent in the upper levels that a leap back into relevance in 2027 is not out of the question.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Significant outgoing free agents: OF Andrew McCutchen, OF Tommy Pham, RP Colin Holderman
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Major moves:
Hired Don Kelly as full-time manager
Signed 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn to a 2-year deal
Acquired 2B Brandon Lowe, OF Jake Mangum, RP Mason Montgomery from Rays in three-way trade that sent SP Mike Burrows to Astros
Signed DH Marcell Ozuna to a 1-year deal
Acquired OF Jhostynxon Garcia from Red Sox for SP Johan Oviedo
Signed RP Gregory Soto to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Jose Urquidy to a 1-year deal
Offseason grade: B-
The Pirates unquestionably got better, dealing from their wealth of pitching depth to upgrade the lineup while pushing their payroll above $100 million via multiple free-agent additions. Pittsburgh finished 30th in home runs by a mile last year — its 117 homers were the second-lowest team total of the past decade (excluding 2020) — and responded by adding a trio of former All-Stars with track records of power production: second-base slugger Brandon Lowe, the late-blooming Ryan O’Hearn and veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna. Add an outfield prospect with real pop in Jhostynxon Garcia and a switch-hitting speedster in Jake Mangum, and it’s not hard to envision this group of new personnel driving a meaningful step forward offensively. And while the Pirates subtracted from their rotation depth via trade, they added two of the hardest-throwing lefty relievers on the planet in Soto and Montgomery to enhance the bullpen’s ultimate potential.
The “minus” component of Pittsburgh’s offseason grade is rooted in concerns about how all the new pieces fit together, particularly defensively. Lowe’s glove rated as the worst among every-day second basemen last season. O’Hearn is solid at first base, but incumbent Spencer Horwitz is a better fit there, and the addition of Ozuna — who hasn’t played in the outfield since 2023, when he did it just twice — removes the DH spot as a regular option for him. That would seem to push O’Hearn to a less-favorable role as a regular in the corner outfield, where he would join another poor defender in Bryan Reynolds and a wild card in Oneil Cruz, who became a full-time center fielder just last year. The current depth chart also features Nick Gonzales as the starting shortstop, despite the bulk of his reps as a pro coming at second; presumably he’s a placeholder until top prospect Konnor Griffin is ready.
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If all the new guys rake in support of what should be a terrific pitching staff led by Paul Skenes, perhaps the defensive deficiencies go unnoticed. But a lot is riding on the new bats to produce in a big way, particularly in the pitcher-friendly confines of PNC Park. And if this ill-fitting collection of hitters is how the Pirates want to unceremoniously move on from Andrew McCutchen — perhaps another reunion is in store, but it’s tough to see after the Ozuna addition — that’s fine, but it better work.
We have an action-packed episode of ‘The Dunker Spot’ coming your way!
To kick us off, Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones take a look at how the big movers from the trade deadline have already affected their new squads. James Harden making his impact on Cleveland, Jaren Jackson Jr. doing what he can on a tanking Utah and more!
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From there, the fellas dive into the fracas from the Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons matchup, where the Hornets also saw their 9-game win streak snapped.
Finally, to round out the show, Nekias and Steve break down all the Unrivaled action from the weekend, break down a trade, and preview the highly anticipated 1-on-1 tournament.
If you ever have NBA or WNBA questions, email us at dunkerspot@yahoo.com.
1:24 James Harden debuts with Cavs 11:57 Jaren Jackson Jr. debuts with Jazz 18:43 NBA tanking? 24:36 Nikola Vucevic debuts with Celtics 33:25 Jose Alvarado debuts with Knicks 38:09 Ayo Dosunmu debuts with Timberwolves 46:20 Chicago Bulls’ newest guards 51:29 Jared McCain debuts with OKC 54:00 Pistons vs. Hornets brawl 57:41 Cam Thomas debuts with Bucks 1:00:26 Unrivaled thoughts & takeaways
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden smiles as he heads off the court after being interviewed following the Cavaliers’ victory over the Denver Nuggets in an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
