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EspañolYankees' win total predicted to drop for Blue Jays, Orioles, Red Sox reason
Yankees' win total predicted to drop for Blue Jays, Orioles, Red Sox reason originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Yankees were their own worst enemy last season. The AL East club went through its annual June swoon and watched the Toronto Blue Jays take over first place in the division.
Toronto and New York finished with an identical 94-68 regular season record, but the Blue Jays' 8-5 head-to-head record against the Yankees gave them a running start to the ALDS.
This offseason, the clubs in the AL East arguably got better, with the Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, and Boston Red Sox making impact free agency moves. With almost an identical roster led by superstar Aaron Judge, can the Yankees' regular-season record improve?
Yankees predicted to win fewer than 94 games
The Tampa Bay Rays may be a long shot to win the AL East title, but any one of the Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Orioles has a decent opportunity to do so.
Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly predicts New York will lose more games this season than last, due to the highly competitive division it's in.
"The Yankees won 94 games last season, which wasn't enough to win baseball's toughest division. The defending AL Champion Toronto Blue Jays arguably got better this offseason with the addition of Dylan Cease. Even after losing Alex Bregman, the Red Sox are still loaded with talent, particularly in the outfield and starting staff," Kelly wrote.
"The Tampa Bay Rays usually find a way to stay competitive, and won't have to play at a minor-league stadium this year. With the Baltimore Orioles making significant offseason improvements, it stands to reason the Yankees could win a few less games this year, even if they still contend for a playoff spot."
One of the biggest questions the Yankees face is what level of production they will receive from Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon when they return to the rotation from injury. Luis Gil is just one year removed from a serious lat strain, and Cam Schlittler is already dealing with back stiffness.
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Sixers Head Coach Makes Shock Admission Over Celtics' Neemias Queta
Sixers Head Coach Makes Shock Admission Over Celtics' Neemias Queta originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Neemias Queta was the best player on the floor as the Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 114-98 on Sunday, March 1. The rim-running big man ended the night with 27 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks. Queta consistently found ways to score against the Sixers, be it put-back buckets, driving the lane or attacking the seams as a cutter.
During his postgame news conference, Sixers’ head coach Nick Nurse gave an honest assessment of Queta’s performance, admitting that his athleticism gave him an edge over Philadelphia’s front court.
“He just seemed a little too quick and athletic for us tonight, too big or something,” Nurse said. “He just seemed like every time we'd make a miss, he seemed to be down there reaching up above all the other hands and pulling it down and keeping it alive. He was really hard to handle tonight for sure.”
Queta has steadily improved his game this season, after being moved into the starting lineup following the departures of Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet via trade and free agency, respectively. Even the addition of Nikola Vucevic, who also had a strong showing against Philadelphia, hasn’t displaced Queta from his role in the starting unit.
The fact that Boston’s center rotation was so dominant against the Sixers is an encouraging sign. During the opening months of the 2025-26 season, the big man rotation was seen as a serious weak point in the roster construction. Now, it’s no longer an area of concern.
If Queta continues to produce at the level we saw from him on Sunday, he will have a sizeable role to play in the upcoming postseason. Queta has proven himself to be a starting-caliber big man, and with just one season left on his three-year $7 million deal, a payday might be right around the corner.
More Celtics: Celtics Linked To Former Cavs Guard In Creative Trade Talk
Thunder adding Payton Sandfort on two-way contract
Shams Charania: The Oklahoma City Thunder are signing Payton Sandfort to a two-way NBA contract out of their OKC Blue G League affiliate, Ross Aroyo and Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tell ESPN. Sandfort joined the OKC program after being undrafted from Iowa last June.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Thunder adding Payton Sandfort on two-way contract
What David Montgomery trade to Texans means for Woody Marks
What David Montgomery trade to Texans means for Woody Marks originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Houston Texans didn't wait long to find a new backfield contributor.
On Monday, a couple weeks before free agency even opens, they swung a trade with the Detroit Lions. It cost the Texans just a fifth-round pick to acquire David Montgomery.
Montgomery is 28 years old but still an effective back, running for eight touchdowns and 4.5 yards per carry in 2025.
He had just become expendable in Detroit thanks to the continued emergence of superstar RB Jahmyr Gibbs.
The fit with the Texans is fascinating, though, because of Woody Marks.
What happens to Woody Marks after David Montgomery trade?
Marks put together a promising rookie season, but now his workload seems destined to shift with the acquisition of Montgomery.
In reality, the Texans probably don't plan to change their long-term outlook on Marks much. He's still an impressive receiving back who also gets the job done on the ground.
But in the near term, this could mean a 50-50 kind of carry split between Marks and Montgomery.
The Texans may have felt this was a necessary move for one reason: Marks' injuries.
In almost every game he played as a rookie, Marks needed to depart for the blue medical tent. Most of the time, he made it back on the field, but it's still a concerning trend.
For a team that wants to finally make it past the AFC Divisional Round, veteran depth at RB is a positive thing.
Montgomery is still a quality player, and he can take the load off Marks not in a diminishing way but in a way that improves Houston's team as a whole.