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Looking Ahead To Club Options

Over the coming days, MLBTR will look at next offseason’s option class. Steve Adams will highlight the players who can opt out of their current deals, while we’ll take a division-by-division look at those whose contracts contain either team or mutual options. Virtually all of the mutual options will be bought out by one side. […]

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Looking Ahead To Club Options

Over the coming days, MLBTR will look at next offseason’s option class. Steve Adams will highlight the players who can opt out of their current deals, while we’ll take a division-by-division look at those whose contracts contain either team or mutual options. Virtually all of the mutual options will be bought out by one side. Generally, if the team is willing to retain the player at the option price, the player will decline his end in search of a better free agent deal.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona signed the veteran righty, who missed all of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery in January 2024. Graveman was hobbled by back discomfort this spring and began the year on the 15-day injured list. He has thrown a few bullpen sessions but has yet to begin a rehab assignment. During his most recent healthy season, Graveman worked to a 3.12 ERA across 66 1/3 innings between the White Sox and Astros.

Grichuk posted big numbers in a short-side platoon role for the Snakes in 2024. Arizona brought him back on a $5MM free agent deal. He’s making only a $2MM salary and will collect a $3MM buyout on his option at the end of the season. Grichuk hasn’t gotten much playing time, starting six of Arizona’s 19 games (all but one as the designated hitter). He’s out to a decent start, batting .240 with five doubles over 28 plate appearances.

Colorado Rockies

Farmer has been a rare bright spot in what has been a terrible Colorado lineup. The veteran utilityman has started 15 of their 18 games. He’s playing mostly second base and is hitting .345 with nine doubles, the second-most in MLB. Farmer isn’t going to keep hitting at this pace, but it’s an excellent start for a player who signed for $3.25MM after a down year (.214/.293/.353) with Minnesota.

Kinley signed a three-year extension during the 2022-23 offseason. The slider specialist had a brilliant first half to the ’22 campaign, but that was cut short in July by elbow surgery. Kinley hasn’t been the same pitcher since returning. He allowed more than six earned runs per nine in both 2022 and ’23. He has given up five runs (four earned) with seven strikeouts and six walks across 7 2/3 innings this season. Kinley owns a 6.03 ERA while walking more than 11% of opposing hitters over 88 frames since signing the extension.

The option comes with a $5MM base value. It would escalate by $500K apiece if Kinley finishes 20, 25, and 30 games — potentially up to $6.5MM. He has finished two contests in the early going. While the option isn’t especially costly, this is trending towards a buyout.

Stallings produced the best offensive numbers of his career for the Rox in 2024. He returned on a $2.5MM deal early in the offseason. Stallings has been more of the 1-b catcher behind Hunter Goodman. He has started seven games and caught 59 innings. It’s been a slow start, as he’s batting .125 with 12 strikeouts in 27 trips to the plate.

Note: Thairo Estrada’s one-year deal contains a ’26 mutual option, but he’s excluded from this exercise because he would remain eligible for arbitration if the option is declined.

Los Angeles Dodgers

This could end up being a borderline call. The Dodgers can keep Muncy around for what’d be his ninth season in L.A. on a $10MM price tag. That’s not an exorbitant sum for baseball’s highest-spending team. Muncy has generally been an excellent hitter in the middle of Dave Roberts’ lineup. He’s a career .230/.355/.482 hitter in Dodger blue. He remained as productive when he was healthy last season, posting a .232/.358/.494 slash over 73 games. An oblique strain cost him three months.

Muncy is out to a much slower start this year. He has yet to connect on a home run in 18 games. He’s batting .193 with 25 strikeouts in 68 plate appearances (a 36.8% rate). It’s very early, of course, but he’ll need to pick things up. Muncy turns 35 in August. NPB third baseman Munetaka Murakami will be posted for MLB teams next offseason. The Dodgers will very likely be involved on the 25-year-old slugger, so it’s possible they’d prefer to keep the position open early in the winter.

Taylor is in the final season of his four-year, $60MM free agent deal. He was coming off an All-Star season in 2021, when he hit .254/.344/.438 with 20 homers. His offense has trended down over the course of the contract, especially sharply over the past two years. Taylor fanned at a near-31% clip last season, batting .202/.298/.300 in 246 plate appearances. He has only been in the starting lineup three times this season.

The Dodgers have kept Taylor throughout his offensive struggles. They clearly place a lot of value on him as a clubhouse presence and appreciate the defensive versatility he provides off the bench. Still, it’s hard to imagine them paying the extra $8MM to exercise the option since he’s essentially the final position player on the roster. The option price would increase by $1MM if Taylor is traded or in the unlikely event that he reaches 525 plate appearances and/or makes the All-Star Game.

Note: Alex Vesia’s arbitration contract contains a ’26 club option, but he’s excluded from this exercise because he would remain eligible for arbitration if the option is declined.

San Diego Padres

Díaz finished last season in San Diego after being released by the Rockies. He re-signed on a $3.5MM deal as the Padres went with the affordable veteran catching tandem of Díaz and Martín Maldonado. He’s hitting .206 in 13 games, though he has taken seven walks against eight strikeouts.

  • Kyle Hart, LHP ($5MM club option, $500K buyout)

Hart, a soft-tossing lefty, returned to the majors after an excellent year in Korea. He signed a $1.5MM guarantee with a ’26 team option that has a $5MM base salary. The option price could climb as high as $7.5MM. It would jump $250K if Hart reaches 18 starts this year, $500K at 22 starts, $750K at 26 starts, and $1MM if he starts 30 games.

San Diego has given Hart a season-opening rotation spot. He has allowed seven runs over his first 11 2/3 innings. Hart has walked five with eight strikeouts and a below-average 8.3% swinging strike percentage.

King’s option is purely an accounting measure. He agreed to push $3.75MM of this year’s $7.75MM guarantee back to the end of the season in the form of a buyout — potentially buying the Padres a bit of flexibility for in-season trade acquisitions. Barring a major injury, he’s going to decline his end of the option and will be one of the top pitchers in next year’s class.

Wade agreed to a $1MM club option as part of a deal to avoid a hearing in his final year of arbitration. He was squeezed off the roster during Spring Training. Wade cleared waivers, accepted an assignment to Triple-A, then came back up last week. He’s playing center field with Jackson Merrill and Brandon Lockridge on the injured list. The option price is barely above the league minimum, but Wade is on the roster bubble and no guarantee to stick in the majors through the end of the season.

San Francisco Giants

San Francisco added Murphy on a two-year deal during the 2023-24 offseason. The veteran catcher has had a difficult time staying healthy throughout his career, and that’s continued in San Francisco. He played in only 13 games last year because of a knee sprain. He started this season on the shelf with a herniated disc that is going to keep him out for at least the first two months. This looks like a buyout.

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Check The Kick

After recapping the top fights from UFC Vegas 106, Devin discusses Jon Jones, who doubled down this week on his choice to do…nothing…and former Bellator MMA bantamweight champ Patrick Mix, who has parted ways with Professional Fighters League and is UFC-bound. [embedded content] 0:00 Intro—– OUT WITH THE OLD: UFC VEGAS 1061:28 Michael Morales absolutely […]

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Check The Kick

After recapping the top fights from UFC Vegas 106, Devin discusses Jon Jones, who doubled down this week on his choice to do…nothing…and former Bellator MMA bantamweight champ Patrick Mix, who has parted ways with Professional Fighters League and is UFC-bound.

0:00 Intro
—– OUT WITH THE OLD: UFC VEGAS 106
1:28 Michael Morales absolutely wrecks Gilbert Burns
9:28 Melquizael Costa survives Julian Erosa—and a nasty toe injury
14:05 Jared Gordon checks Thiago Moises‘ chin after showing off his own
—– WHAT’S HOT
19:28 Jon Jones stands by his right not to fight
27:59 Patchy Mix’s short-notice UFC debut set

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Luana Santos Scores First UFC Women's Americana, May Stay At 135

[embedded content] UFC bantamweight Luana Santos got back into the win column in style as she scored the first Americana submission victory in UFC women’s history over Tainara Lisboa at UFC Vegas 106 on Saturday night. “Making history. I always tell people that I want to leave a little mark. To be the first Americana […]

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Luana Santos Scores First UFC Women's Americana, May Stay At 135

UFC bantamweight Luana Santos got back into the win column in style as she scored the first Americana submission victory in UFC women’s history over Tainara Lisboa at UFC Vegas 106 on Saturday night.

“Making history. I always tell people that I want to leave a little mark. To be the first Americana finish…before this fight I said I want to have a safe fight. Cautious fight because I want to come out and get back into the win column,” Santos told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator at her post-fight scrum.

“As it turns out not only I did put on a show for people and I end up with a first Americana.”

Santos (9-2) took his first bantamweight UFC bout against Lisboa

“I have one foot in one and another foot on another. I feel good about this, bantamweight was actually what I used to fight, I used to fight 135 for a long time. Just wanted to test myself at 125, and I did it. This felt really good,” she said.

“I felt strong so this may be my home.”

Santos’s boyfriend, Allan Begosso, is a DWCS alumn and hopeful to make his UFC debut this year. He scored a submission victory at LFA 208 just a week ago in Santa Cruz putting his opponent to sleep.

Could the couple be together in the UFC next? Santos sure hopes so. When he does get in would she want to fight on the same card?

“No, no way. Otherwise I’m going to have a heart attack before the fight,” Santos told Cageside Press laughing at the thought.

“He can fight on one week, and I’ll fight the other!”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Luana Santos above.

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IU basketball recruiting

Indiana offered Tennessee forward Trey Thompson on Monday, he announced on his social media pages. Thompson reported the offer came via a phone call with new assistant coach Kenny Johnson.  He’s also connected to new assistant Rod Clark, who offered and recruited him when Clark was an assistant coach at Tennessee. Multiple reports indicated the […]

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IU basketball recruiting

Indiana offered Tennessee forward Trey Thompson on Monday, he announced on his social media pages.

Thompson reported the offer came via a phone call with new assistant coach Kenny Johnson.  He’s also connected to new assistant Rod Clark, who offered and recruited him when Clark was an assistant coach at Tennessee.

Multiple reports indicated the IU staff was watching Thompson this weekend during the live period.

According to the industry average of the national recruiting sites, Thompson is a 3-star, the No. 136 overall player in the class, and the No. 22 power forward.

Thompson helped lead Greeneville H.S. (Greeneville, Tenn.) to the final four of the state tournament.  He was named Class 3A All-State.  This season Thompson averaged 24.3 points per game, while shooting 44 percent from three-point range, 60 percent from the field, and 81 percent from the free throw line. He averaged 10.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

On film the 6-foot-8 and 220-pound Thompson has the look of a modern stretch-4.  He’s a very good shooter from beyond the arc, athletic, physical and rebounds at a high rate.

Both of Thompson’s parents used to coach basketball at Montverde Academy.  His father also played at the school.

For spring and summer basketball Thompson plays for Tennessee Impact on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit.

Thompson’s offer list includes Purdue, Tennessee, Xavier, Virginia, Stanford, Butler, Virginia Tech and others.

For a complete summary of Indiana’s 2026-28 offers and prospects, GO HERE.

For complete coverage of IU basketball recruiting, GO HERE.   


The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

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Paddy Pimblett sends Ilia Topuria an ominous message ahead of UFC 317 lightweight title shot

UFC lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett sent a message to his longtime rival ahead of UFC 317. Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will face Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight championship next month at UFC 317. After weeks of speculation over a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Topuria matchup, Makhachev opted to vacate the title […]

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Paddy Pimblett sends Ilia Topuria an ominous message ahead of UFC 317 lightweight title shot

UFC lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett sent a message to his longtime rival ahead of UFC 317.

Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will face Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight championship next month at UFC 317. After weeks of speculation over a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Topuria matchup, Makhachev opted to vacate the title for a move to welterweight, leaving Topuria and Oliveira to compete for the belt.

As the UFC promised, Topuria will get an immediate lightweight title shot after vacating the featherweight belt earlier this year. It was later won by Alexander Volkanovski over Diego Lopes at UFC 314.

If Topuria earns the belt at UFC 317 over Oliveira, there is no shortage of options for his first lightweight title defense. One of the most viable options is a name long linked to a showdown with Topuria after a three-year feud.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Paddy Pimblett reignites Ilia Topuria feud as UFC 317 looms

Paddy Pimblett remained unbeaten in his UFC tenure by finishing Michael Chandler in the UFC 314 co-main event last month. Pimblett called out Topuria in his post-fight press conference, but called the former featherweight titleholder ‘irrelevant’ in the lightweight title mix.

Pimblett could potentially be next in line for a title shot after his win over Chandler. He and Topuria have a checkered past, dating back to their infamous altercation at a fighter hotel in 2022.

While Topuria and Pimblett shared a brief, albeit cordial moment while cornering their teammates at UFC 312, tensions remain high between the two sides. As Pimblett nears a shot at UFC gold, a matchup between the UK star and Topuria is closer than ever before.

Pimblett might not have a rooting preference in who wins the vacant title at UFC 317. But if it ends up being Topuria, Pimblett plans on finishing his longtime adversary in a vicious fashion.

In a recent Instagram post, Pimblett posted a photo of him headkicking Chandler along with a veiled message at Topuria.

“Can’t wait to land one of these on el chorizo,” Pimblett posted.

As of this writing, Topuria hasn’t responded to Pimblett’s post. He hasn’t fought since knocking out BMF titleholder Max Holloway at UFC 308 in October.

Ilia Topuria refuses to grant Islam Makhachev an immediate title shot with UFC 317 win

A Topuria vs. Pimblett showdown is becoming increasingly likely after Topuria’s recent remarks about the former titleholder. Topuria recently said he refuses to grant Makhachev an immediate title shot if he opts to return to the lightweight division, an apparent nod to Makhachev’s recent apprehension at facing him.

Makhachev is expected to face newly-crowned UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena later this year for his chance at a second championship. He hasn’t fought since defeating Renato Moicano at UFC 311, and the welterweight door opened when Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad at UFC 315.

The UFC lightweight and welterweight title conversations continue to spark spontaneity in MMA, and fight fans are in for a treat this summer and beyond.

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¡Ya para la pelea! Denise Gomes noquea Elise Reed en UFC Fight Night

4

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¡Ya para la pelea! Denise Gomes noquea Elise Reed en UFC Fight Night

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The Traditional Festival in a Different Format

Inspiration was the main objective of the one-week-long Sports Film Festival held in mid-December. This time, however, the annual project was different: film lovers could watch the movies free of charge and safely, i.e. without leaving their homes. “We are going through a difficult time, therefore this year the festival sought to inspire people, to […]

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The Traditional Festival in a Different Format

Inspiration was the main objective of the one-week-long Sports Film Festival held in mid-December. This time, however, the annual project was different: film lovers could watch the movies free of charge and safely, i.e. without leaving their homes.

“We are going through a difficult time, therefore this year the festival sought to inspire people, to brighten up their moods and introduce to them our unique sports heroes and tell them their stories. We wanted to provide this opportunity to all Lithuanian residents, from young viewers to the seniors, therefore all the films with Lithuanian subtitles were shown free of charge.

I am sure these films have helped to see the other side of sport, where medals are not the only measure of victories, and where determination and hard work at the sports ground change history,“ said Daina Gudzinevičiūtė, Olympic champion, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), President of the National Olympic Committee of Lithuania (LNOC).

The programme of the 2020 festival consisted of twelve documentaries and one feature film, which spoke, via sport and personal stories, about gender equality, climate change, children’s physical activity, the integration of refugees and the elderly and about other social challenges.

The festival involved five relevant discussions with athletes, experts, teachers and film directors. The discussion participants tried to answer the questions about whether sport could serve as a means of integrating refugees into society, how sport is related to climate change, how to get rid of gender stereotypes in sport, how to maintain a relationship with oneself and society as we grow older, and what physical literacy means.

All festival films were available to the audience free of charge on the Lithuanian Film Foundation platform. The most popular film of the festival was the cinematograph film “K2: My Way” presented by the embassy of the Czech Republic in Vilnius about the woman’s invincible will, desire and effort in pursuit of her goal.

“This is the first Czech documentary about a Czech female mountaineer. The film speaks about how difficult it is to find acceptance in today’s society and why it is necessary to defend one’s position, objective and desires and fight for them. Clara constantly balances between the roles of a woman, mom, and mountaineer. Why are men allowed more than women in today’s society?

The film raises the topics that are currently relevant and unfortunately painful and unresolved worldwide, such as gender equality and, in general, an individual’s human right to choose and decide,“ said Vit Korselt, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Lithuania.

The story from Scotland “Climbing Blind” and the short film “118 Feet of Freedom” by the Lithuanian director Mintautas Grigas attracted considerable interest.

The audience also showed interest in the films “Runner” and “Will” presented by the festival partner the US embassy in Vilnius, telling the incredible experiences of two men that changed history.

“We were delighted to have been able to present the multiple award-winning US documentaries at the Sports Film Festival again. We are also grateful for this opportunity to our long-time partners, the US film diplomacy program the American Film Showcase, which shows relevant documentaries to the viewers around the world.

These two films are excellent examples of this program, inviting us to discuss current social issues, refugees, diversity, tolerance and the power of sports as well as exceptional athletes who are able to unite people of different origins and cultures,“ said Caitlin Nettleton, the Cultural Attaché at the US Embassy in Vilnius.

The festival was organized by the National Olympic Committee of Lithuania in cooperation with the US Embassy in Vilnius along with the American Film Showcase program and the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Vilnius, Vilnius University, Olympic Channel, and the Lithuanian Film Foundation.

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