Tagged in: physical

MLB

New York Yankees not worried about Aaron Judge’s mental or physical state in his quest for 62 home runs

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Aaron Judge has been a mainstay in the New York Yankees’ lineup all season as he keep to put up numbers that could define his MVP-caliber 2022 season as one of the best ever.

Manager Aaron Boone, however, isn’t concern about the mental or physical state of his All-Star outfielder before the playoffs while he is steeped in the chase for home run history.

Judge is one home run from tying Roger Maris’ American League single-season record of 61, but he has played in 45 consecutive matches — he also played 47 straight earlier this season. In total, he has played 147 of the Yankees’ 151 games, and he has 73 starts in center field, which is a career high.

“Hopefully, we can continue to kind of stack up some wins here and put ourselves in a position to where, in the last week, [we can] rest,” Boone said before Saturday’s 7-5 win, in which Judge went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts versus the Boston Red Sox.

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“Paying attention to not just Aaron, but to all the guys and what their needs are. I feel like [Judge] is in a good spot, as fresh as you can be mentally. I don’t think this has been something that’s worn him down. Because if I felt like it was, and he needed a day, I would give it to him.”

Boone stated Judge has benefited not only from the rest days built into the schedule of late — the Yankees had three days off during their latest road trip — but noted that Judge’s physical conditioning and durability are better than last year.

“That’s a unique part of the schedule that I think served [Judge] and us well,” Boone said. “But coupled with the fact that, I think, this year, more than last year where he remained remarkably healthy, there were still days where I knew he was a little beat up and felt like he needed something. It’s been a little cleaner throughout. There were some true strategic [days off] early in the middle of the year around some off days that hopefully served him well.”

Boone stated Judge’s chase for history hasn’t worn him down mentally, either.

“I don’t think it has taken that mental toll, because you are always paying attention to that with players,” Boone said. “Sometimes you feel like a guy does need a break. I haven’t felt that to be the case [with Judge].

“I think it’s the evolution of him. He’s done a better job knowing he doesn’t have to do everything every day. He knows how to preserve and save some bullets, especially when you get into the second half of the season and some of the dog days. He’s really learned how to prepare and understanding that, especially physically, that less is more a lot of times.”

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NFL

Miami Dolphins acquire Kansas City Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill for five draft picks

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The Kansas City Chiefs traded six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for five draft picks: a 2022 first-round pick (No. 29), second-round pick (No. 50) and fourth-round pick, plus fourth- and sixth-round picks in the 2023 draft on Wednesday.

The trade is pending a physical, the Dolphins stated.

The Dolphins also are giving Hill a four-year, $120 million extension, including $72.2 million guaranteed and also including $52.535 million at signing, agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN.

The deal makes Hill the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history. The $72.2 million total becomes fully guaranteed at the start of the 2023 league year. The three-year total of the deal is $72.5 million.

For Hill, who was already under contract for the 2022 season, the overall total value of the deal — including the $120 million in new money — is $141.685 million.

It also includes $250,000 in Pro Bowl incentives each campaign.

Both the New York Jets and the Dolphins had trades in place for Hill, according to sources. The question became where Hill wanted to become the wide receiver with a record-breaking deal.

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The Jets’ trade offer to the Chiefs for Hill — which Kansas City would have accepted if the wide receiver had opted for New York — did not include a first-round pick but rather multiple picks that were commensurate to the Dolphins’ offer based on the draft value chart that teams use, sources told ESPN. The Chiefs would have gotten picks No. 35, 38 and 69 while the Jets would have gotten Hill and pick No. 103.

Davante Adams was the highest-paid wide receiver for a week after he signed a five-year contract with the Las Vegas Raiders that averages $28 million per season and includes $65.67 million fully guaranteed.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Hill wrote: “Today starts a new beginning. I’m very excited to be joining the Miami Dolphins and get to work, however it’s hard thinking about the memories, people and fans that made my time in Kansas City so great.”

He also thanked those who joined him in giving back to the community in Kansas City through his foundation and thanked the Chiefs “for believing in me.”

“I worked hard every day to show my appreciation for you taking a chance on me. To Coach (Andy Reid), Coach (Eric) Bieniemy and Coach (Greg) Lewis, thank you for what you have taught me not only about football but about life,” he wrote.

Lastly, he thanked his now former Chiefs teammates and the fans, ending his message by writing, “Kansas City will always hold a special place in my heart!”

The Dolphins’ odds at Caesars Sportsbook to win the Super Bowl improved from 70-1 to 40-1 with the trade. Their odds to win the AFC improved from 35-1 to 20-1 and the AFC East from +675 to +400.

It’s the second major move made this week by the Dolphins to boost their offense that will be installed by new head coach Mike McDaniel.

On Tuesday, the Dolphins agreed on a five-year deal with left tackle Terron Armstead that is worth up to $87.5 million, a source told ESPN, locking up the services of one of the top free agents of the 2022 cycle. That deal includes $43.37 million in guaranteed money, the source said.

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MLB

1B Anthony Rizzo agrees to two-year, $32 million contract with New York Yankees

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First baseman Anthony Rizzo, who concluded last season with the Yankees after a trade from the Chicago Cubs, agreed to a multiyear contract Tuesday night to return to New York, pending a physical, a source told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.

The contract for is two years and $32 million with an opt-out clause after one season, a source said.

During his decade-long career with the Cubs, Rizzo was as reliable as anyone in the batter’s box and in the field. He was a consistent All-Star and Gold Glove winner and garnered MVP votes in five consecutive seasons. But his numbers dropped over the past two seasons, culminating in the trade to New York.

Rizzo got off to a hot start with his new team but a bout with COVID-19 interrupted his second half. He still managed 22 home runs split between the Cubs and Yankees but his .783 OPS was his lowest since 2013.

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Rizzo’s defense hasn’t suffered as he’s aged and a perennial back ailment hasn’t kept him out of the lineup for more than a few days at a time. He’s still a reliable left-handed bat but may never again be an MVP-caliber player.

Rizzo is just one of five left-handed hitters in the long history of the Cubs to hit 30 or more home runs in a season.

And he’s just one of two players to do it multiple times. He averaged 29 home runs over a seven-year span, helping the Cubs to the postseason from 2015 to 2018.

He was also the de facto leader of the team, signing a long-term contract with the Cubs in 2013. That ended last year after the Cubs picked up two team option years in 2020 and 2021.

The sides discussed another deal as recently as this past spring but after an agreement couldn’t be reached, Rizzo was traded to the Yankees the day before the trade deadline this past summer.

New York, after a slow start, rallied with Rizzo and Co. to make the postseason, where the Yankees were eliminated by the Boston Red Sox, another team that was mentioned prominently in trade rumors once Rizzo became available.

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NFL

Dallas Cowboys agree to trade wide receiver Amari Cooper to Cleveland Browns

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The Dallas Cowboys agreed to trade wide receiver Amari Cooper and a sixth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for a 2022 fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Saturday.

The deal is pending a physical and should be concluded by the middle of next week.

The Browns entered this offseason on the hunt to rebuild Baker Mayfield’s wide receiving corps, which was a massive disappointment last year.

The Browns had high hopes that Odell Beckham Jr. could return to being a No. 1 wide receiver after suffering a season-ending injury in 2020. Instead, he was released by the team in early November.

OBJ went on to win a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, while Cleveland’s passing game cratered on the way to a disappointing 8-9 finish.

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The Browns, in fact, didn’t have a single wideout top 600 receiving yards, and only Jarvis Landry had more than 35 receptions.

Landry already was a question to return before the Browns landed Cooper.

He has a $16.6 million cap hit with no guaranteed money left on the final year of his deal and seemed unlikely to be back, barring a drastic restructuring of his contract.

The Browns have granted permission to Landry to seek a trade, according to sources. In February, Landry tweeted that he’d like to remain in Cleveland, but the ball was in the Browns’ court. Landry is not a free agent but has no guaranteed money left on his deal.

Cooper, meanwhile, gives the Browns a proven No. 1 receiver they so desperately needed after the Beckham debacle.

Cooper, who turns 28 in June, ranked eighth in the league during his time in Dallas in targets (428) among receivers, seventh in receptions (292), ninth in receiving yards (3,893) and ninth in receiving touchdowns (27), according to ESPN Stats & Information data.

Cooper’s future with the Cowboys had been in question going back to last off-season when the club opted not to restructure his contract.

While he signed a five-year, $100 million contract in 2020, it was effectively a two-year deal worth $40 million with his 2021 base salary of $20 million not becoming fully guaranteed until March 20.

The Cowboys started trade talks at the NFL Scouting Combine and had multiple teams interested, per sources. In moving on from Cooper, the Cowboys will have CeeDee Lamb move into the No. 1 receiver role. Lamb caught 79 passes for more than 1,000 yards last season and was added to the Pro Bowl. The Cowboys selected Lamb in the first round in 2020 and gave him the No. 88, a sign of what they believed he could become.

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NFL

New Orleans Saints agree to deal with free agent cornerback Brian Poole

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The New Orleans Saints have agreed to a deal with free agent cornerback Brian Poole, pending a physical, a source confirmed.

Terms of the agreement were not instantly known. NFL reporter Josina Anderson first reported that Poole stated he intends to sign a one-year deal with the Saints on Monday.

Poole, 28, spent his first five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets after going undrafted out of Florida.

The 5-foot-10, 213-pounder established himself as one of the NFL’s top slot cornerbacks before he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 9 last year.

Poole had two interceptions, one sack and seven pass break-ups in his abbreviated 2020 season with the Jets. He has seven interceptions and six sacks in 70 career games.

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Cornerback has been a pressing need for the Saints ever since they released veteran starter Janoris Jenkins during a salary-cap purge at the start of the offseason.

Poole is a curious fit since he primarily plays in the slot – where New Orleans has other proven options like safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and cornerback Patrick Robinson. But the increased depth and talent can’t hurt.

The Saints, who recently created more than $10 million in cap space through revised contracts, could also look to add more veteran help at wide receiver and defensive tackle as they head toward the beginning of training camp this week.

Poole is known for his physical coverage against slot receivers, yet he was called for only three penalties in 2019 and none in 2020, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

He spent his first three years with the Falcons, and quickly became an integral part of the defense. As a rookie, he saw significant playing time on their NFC championship squad. In 2018, he struggled at times in pass coverage, prompting the Falcons to set him free by declining his restricted-free agent tender.

Poole proved to be a solid, cost-effective acquisition for the Jets, first signing a one-year, $3 million deal in 2019, then a one-year $5 million deal in 2020.

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NFL

Antonio Brown still must pass physical before officially signing 1-year deal with Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Antonio Brown agreed to a one-year deal to stay with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month, but the veteran wide receiver has yet to formally sign the extension because he needs to pass a physical after undergoing a knee scope, coach Bruce Arians recently told PewterReport.com.

Brown underwent the successful knee scope on Tuesday.

“It’s just a matter of a physical,” Arians said. “We wanted AB back. He was a model citizen the whole time he’s been here. We wanted him back, and he’s never had surgery in his life, so it’s just a matter of getting the physical done. So yeah, I wanted him back the whole time.”

Bucs general manager Jason Licht told JoeBucsFan.com that he thinks Brown will sign his contract Monday. The deal is worth up to $6.25 million and has a guaranteed value of $3.1 million, including a $2 million signing bonus, which is all contingent upon Brown passing the physical.

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Brown led the Bucs in receiving targets over the final four matches of the regular season and had a 36-yard touchdown catch in the Tampa Bay’s wild-card-round triumph over the Washington Football Team.

He suffered a knee injury the following week versus the New Orleans Saints in the NFC divisional playoffs, forcing him to miss the NFC Championship Game.

But Brown returned to play in Super Bowl LV, in which he caught five passes for 22 yards and a 1-yard touchdown.

Last week, a lawsuit was filed against Brown for his role in an altercation with a moving truck driver in January 2020.

The suit says that the plaintiff, Anton Tumanov, suffered severe bodily injuries and mental anguish in the incident.

Brown pleaded no contest to one felony burglary with battery charge and two lesser misdemeanor charges related to the incident, and served an eight-game suspension in 2020 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy for that incident and a sexual misconduct allegation by an artist who worked in his home in 2017.

Last month, Brown reached a settlement on a civil suit with his former personal trainer, who accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2017 and 2018.

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NFL

Sammy Watkins agrees to one-year contract with Baltimore Ravens

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Sammy Watkins agreed to a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens, the team revealed. The team stated the contract is pending a physical.

Terms were not disclosed but sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter the deal is worth $6 million with $5 million guaranteed.

The addition of Watkins ended the Ravens’ difficult pursuit of an experienced wide receiver for quarterback Lamar Jackson and helps boost the NFL’s 32nd-ranked passing attack. Watkins’ 4,665 career receiving yards are more than double the combined career total of the Ravens’ current wide receivers (2,032).

If he can stay healthy, Watkins can team with Marquise “Hollywood” Brown as Baltimore’s starting wide receivers and complement him as a valuable underneath target for Jackson.

It has been a trying offseason for the Ravens to land a veteran wide receiver for Jackson, which further raises interrogations of whether wide receivers want to play in Baltimore’s run-first offense.

Desperately needing a wide receiver in a dwindling free-agent pool, the Ravens watched JuJu Smith-Schuster turn down a better offer to return to Pittsburgh last week and then lost out on T.Y. Hilton, who chose to go back to Indianapolis on Wednesday.

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Baltimore eventually went with Watkins, who had met with Ravens officials on Tuesday before leaving for a visit with the Colts. When Indianapolis retained Hilton, the Ravens struck a deal with Watkins.

By joining Baltimore, Watkins reunites with Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman and passing-game specialist Keith Williams. In Roman’s only full season as the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator, Watkins produced career highs with 1,047 yards receiving and nine touchdowns in 2015. Before being hired by the Ravens this year, Williams recently served as Watkins’ personal receivers coach in the offseason.

This marks the first time Baltimore has signed a wide receiver this early in free agency since the Ravens added Michael Crabtree in 2018. The most significant free-agent wide receiver signings by the Ravens in the past two years were Seth Roberts and Dez Bryant.

One of the bigger surprises of the Ravens’ offseason was Baltimore not signing a wide receiver immediately when it was among the team’s top needs.

The Ravens’ wide receivers have ranked last in each of the past two campaigns in catches and receiving yards, and this group ranked among the youngest in the league because their two most experienced targets (Bryant and Willie Snead IV) are free agents.

Before bringing in Watkins, the Ravens’ top four wide receivers on their roster — Brown, Miles Boykin, Devin Duvernay and James Proche II — were all drafted in the past two years, and none are over the age of 24.

The signing of Watkins won’t preclude the Ravens from drafting a wide receiver, but it should decrease the necessity to select one in the first round. Watkins is only the Ravens’ second free agent signed from another team this offseason.

Earlier this month, Baltimore signed guard Kevin Zeitler to a three-year, $22.5 million contract.

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