Padres among several teams targeting Freddy Peralta

The hot stove has gone cold, the Mets and Dodgers are ruining baseball, a potential World Cup boycott from Europe, Chargers add Mike McDaniel to coaching staff, and more!

Yesterday, I tried out Substack’s live video feature and ended up doing a solo podcast for close to an hour. Enjoy!

LIVE Venting Session: Padres & the world

San Diego Padres / MLB

Padres Have Shown Interest In Freddy Peralta - MLB Trade Rumors
Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta is not a lock to be traded but plenty of other clubs are interested. He’s already been connected to the Astros, Giants, Mets, Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Braves this offseason. Today, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that the Padres have checked in with the Brewers while Katie Woo of The Athletic reports that the Dodgers remain engaged.

The Two Ways Brewers Could End Up Trading Freddy Peralta to San Diego Padres - Brewers Fanatic
Along with rumors of their hope to add a starter before spring training, the Padres have expressed at least a willingness to consider subtracting one, according to two league sources. Starter Nick Pivetta had a sparkling first season in San Diego, with a 2.87 ERA in 182 innings, but he’s owed $19 million for 2026. He can opt out of his deal after either 2026 or 2027, but is guaranteed $14 million and $18 million, respectively, if he elects to stick around. Though Peralta would be a one-year rental, that’s effectively the situation with Pivetta, as well, and Peralta comes at a much lower price tag, with a better long-term track record. Unlike Pivetta, Peralta would also be eligible to receive a qualifying offer in November, as long as a deal gets done before Opening Day.

Mets land OF Luis Robert Jr. in trade with White Sox - ESPN
The New York Mets acquired center fielder Luis Robert Jr. in a trade with the Chicago White Sox late Tuesday, adding a strong defensive presence with a high-upside offensive game as they reshape their roster after a disappointing 2025.

The deal, which sent infielder Luisangel Acuna and right-hander Truman Pauley to the White Sox, capped a day in which the Mets made official their three-year, $126 million contract with free agent infielder Bo Bichette.

The Dodgers are flying first-class - The Bandwagon
What allows the Dodgers to be the Dodgers, beyond the baseball savvy every team envies, is the willingness to chase excellence at the cost of money. It’s fair to presume the Pirates and Marlins can’t prudently spend like this, but we have little evidence to suggest they are throwing their full financial capabilities into the sports bubble’s suspended reality where they are so thoroughly supported — by baseball’s system, and by the fans whose enthusiasm funds it.

At some point, the teams looking to restrict the flow of money toward competition should be asked to answer some questions between sticker shock and systemic change. Are they priced out? Or are they just too comfortable to pay for an upgrade?

Do we actually care about the provenance of success? Or does luxury we’re not capable of attaining inherently sting?

Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones elected to Baseball Hall of Fame - The Athletic
Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones, graceful center fielders and slugging stalwarts of the 2000s, were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The pair will join Jeff Kent, a second baseman elected by an era committee last month, at the July 26 ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Beltrán was elected on his fourth ballot and Jones on his ninth, the duo finally breaking through in an election with only one newcomer, Cole Hamels, who cleared the necessary 5 percent to remain under consideration by the writers.

Odds & Ends

San Diego: The sports city that once was and still can be - The Daily Aztec
From 1978 to 1984, San Diego boasted a vibrant professional sports scene, home to the Chargers (NFL), Clippers (NBA) and Padres (MLB). Now, out of the “Big Four” North American sports leagues, America’s eighth-largest city is only home to the Padres.

In 1984, the San Diego Clippers became the Los Angeles Clippers in the city’s first blow to its professional sporting scene. Decades later, in 2017, San Diego suffered the ultimate loss when its beloved NFL franchise, the Chargers, followed the same move north.

Despite the dwindling number of professional teams, San Diegans still have an immense passion for sports today. Through local staples like the Padres and San Diego State athletics, as well as newcomers like San Diego FC, sports fandom still has a pulse in San Diego.

Magoon Gwath injured, out for Aztecs’ game at Grand Canyon - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego State will be without Magoon Gwath on Wednesday night at Grand Canyon, and perhaps longer.

The 7-foot starting forward accompanied the team to Phoenix but is listed as “out” on the Mountain West’s availability report for the 8 p.m. PST game at GCU Arena. The report doesn’t specify injuries, although it is likely a hip issue, not his surgically repaired right knee.

Gwath tweaked the hip last week at Wyoming, then did it again early in Saturday’s home game against New Mexico, subbing himself out and briefly heading to the locker room. He returned to the game later in the first half and played 5½ minutes in the second half before being subbed out for good with 9:06 left.

How Trump’s Greenland obsession could spark a World Cup boycott - The Independent
Other senior officials believe Infantino is hoping this will ultimately pass in the way most Trump flare-ups do. Even if nothing happens, though, it is an unprecedented situation for Fifa to be in – and one accentuated by its president’s proximity to this US administration.

If something does happen, however, Infantino faces the biggest crisis Fifa has ever had. The most lucrative ever World Cup may become the most ruinous. The tournament is square in the centre of it all.

Chargers to hire former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator: Sources - The Athletic
The Los Angeles Chargers are expected to hire former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as their new offensive coordinator, according to league sources.

McDaniel met with Chargers officials throughout the day Tuesday, and those meetings continued Tuesday night with dinner, according to league sources. Nothing is official yet, but according to a league source, McDaniel removed his name from consideration for the Cleveland Browns head-coaching job.

The NFL’s GM Power Era Has Arrived - The Ringer
We have officially arrived in the NFL’s general manager power era. As the coaching carousel spins and teams around the league get to work replacing 10 head coaches, there is less turnover among top football executives than ever. A bunch of team owners seemingly decided that things were bad enough in the 2025 season that someone had to go, but in many cases, that someone wasn’t the person responsible for building the roster. For decades, head coaches were some of the most famous and powerful people in the sport; now, front office executives are starting to gain an upper hand.

It has been building this way for some time, with a significant shift in that direction two years ago when Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll were forced out of their roles in New England and Seattle, respectively. But during this current, highly chaotic head coaching cycle, the power pendulum has fully swung toward the GMs.

Fernando Mendoza Was Unstoppable - Defector
Mendoza had an option to pass, depending on the defense’s strategy, but Plan A was the QB draw, and after a second of hesitation, he went full speed ahead. There was a chance he could have been tripped up at the line of scrimmage by a defender, or his own blocker, but Mendoza cut to his right. He could have been caught by a pursuing defender before getting the first, but he accelerated too fast. He could have been sandwiched by two Canes in the space between a first down and a touchdown, but Mendoza battered them both, staggering but not stopping as he renewed his efforts for the goal line. Even there, he could have met destruction as he dove across, but his stretched-out body absorbed the heavy hit to his back. He didn’t give up the football as he fell toward the earth, and his team was six points richer when he landed.

“In my country, I suffer injustice” - Sports Politika
“This great dream and this great ambition will have to wait,” opined writer Abdelkader El-Aine following Senegal’s dramatic 1-0 victory over Morocco in the final of the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The match itself was extraordinary, ranking among the greatest ever seen on the African continent. Remarkably, the chaos was confined to the closing moments. Senegal had a goal disallowed in stoppage time, and minutes later Morocco were awarded a penalty. This prompted Senegal’s players to walk off the pitch in what appeared to be a forfeit.

After a long, dramatic delay—during which Senegalese fans invaded the pitch and clashed with Moroccan security—Brahim Díaz missed a poorly executed Panenka, sending the match into extra time. Pape Gueye then scored the decisive goal in the 94th minute, extending Morocco’s 50-year AFCON title drought and turning Rabat’s dreams of glory into the stuff of nightmares.

And despite several days having passed for tensions to cool, there is little indication that Morocco intends to let the incident die down anytime soon.