NEW ORLEANS — There is a certain spotlight that comes with being a Manning quarterback. For Arch Manning, back home in New Orleans, the spotlight is even greater now that he enters the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl as the Texas backup.
That was obvious Saturday at Longhorns media day, his first availability since arriving at Texas in January as the most heralded recruit in the Steve Sarkisian era. Manning spoke for nearly 40 minutes about his new role as the No. 2 quarterback behind Quinn Ewers, his famous grandfather and uncles, being in the Superdome and what he has learned since he enrolled with the Longhorns.
The biggest difference between the game Monday night against Washington and every other game this season is that he is now officially one play away from getting into a game, after backup Maalik Murphy entered the transfer portal.
“I’ve tried to prepare like I’m the starter every week, but I guess now that you’re just one play away instead of two, there’s a little more to be prepared for,” Manning said. “A lot of it is mental just because you’re watching, you’ve got to get mental reps and just trying to prepare like you’re the starter because there’s a good chance you play. There’s also a good chance you don’t play, but at the end of the day, it’s just football, going out there, doing what I’ve done my whole life. So that’s what I’m trying to do.”
If Manning needed any reminder about how close he is to playing, he saw firsthand as he watched the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday night. Ohio State starter Devin Brown got hurt early, and freshman Lincoln Kienholz played the rest of the way. The Buckeyes ended up losing 14-3 to Missouri.
“That just kind of reminds me that I’m one snap away. But hopefully that doesn’t happen, hopefully Quinn has a good game and we move on to the national championship,” Manning said.
When asked why he felt he was prepared to play if something happens to Ewers, Manning said, “I think because I’ve been preparing all year to play. I think when my name is called, I’m going to go out there and be ready to roll.”
Manning said he attended the Sugar Bowl nearly every year as a child growing up in New Orleans. The team practiced at Tulane on Friday, a short drive from his home. He has had a chance to see his family since Texas arrived, and was asked multiple times about getting the chance to play in the Superdome for the first time — where his grandfather Archie is in the Saints’ ring of honor.
His high school teams at Isidore Newman never made it far enough to play for a state championship inside the stadium.
“It’s nice being back in town,” Manning said. “He’s my biggest role model, getting to practice and eventually play where he played is super special.”
His uncles Peyton and Eli Manning have sent him encouraging texts throughout the year as he has waited his turn to play. His father, Cooper Manning, played wide receiver at Ole Miss. Though waiting has been hard, Manning said he has not considered transferring despite social media speculation.
“Obviously, there’s always rumors, especially nowadays, but I haven’t looked into transferring at all,” Arch Manning said. “I’m just focused on developing and helping this team in any way I can. Hopefully, one day playing for the University of Texas like I’ve always wanted to.”
When asked what would happen if his father fielded big-money offers to get him to transfer once this season ends, Manning said, “I don’t think it’s about money right now. I want to develop from Sark. I was told that good things happening to good people who work hard and put their head down and that’s what I’m focused on right now.”
Sarkisian said Manning has been “tremendous” since he got to Texas, and he has seen “dramatic improvement.”
“I give him a lot of credit, because he operates on a daily basis like that’s not the name on the back of his jersey,” Sarkisian said. “He comes to work and works as hard or harder than anybody in our program. He’s extremely humble. He’s there for his teammates.
“I’ve seen dramatic improvement in him. That’s not the say he wasn’t really good when he got here, but he’s worked so hard to improve his game not only physically but mentally. He’s fun to coach because he’s coachable. He wants to do it right. You definitely see the Manning gene in him. The work ethic is undeniable. The football IQ is undeniable. We’re fortunate to have him.”
While there isn’t a massive free agent expected to smash records this winter like Ohtani and Soto did, there are two players who are intriguing for different reasons and also happen to have the same first name: Kyle Schwarber and Kyle Tucker.
From one point of view, Tucker has had a solid walk year, posting 4.7 WAR with his offensive numbers down just a tick from last year’s career year but underlying metrics close to his best seasons. On the other hand, Tucker had a really rough run in August, hitting .148/.233/.148 (16 wRC+) over 15 games (61 plate appearances) from Aug. 1 to Aug. 18. This led to him sitting out games Aug. 19 and 20. The Chicago Cubs right fielder has hit well since returning, but now he’s on the injured list with a calf strain. That said, he was tied for fifth in baseball in WAR at the end of June, and he remains in the top 20.
Schwarber’s season is less complicated. The Philadelphia Phillies slugger has posted career bests in most offensive categories, including his 50 homers, 123 RBIs and 4.5 WAR. The only negatives for his outlook on free agency are that Schwarber will be 33 years old in March and has played only 13 games in the field over the last two seasons. Designated hitters well into their 30s haven’t fared well in free agency, but none of those had hit 50 homers in their walk year, so Schwarber is in uncharted territory.
How much might each of the Kyles get this winter? We polled 20 scouts, executives and agents to find out.
Kyle Tucker
How much could Tucker get?
Here are the 20 responses from our panel, grouped in tiers by total dollars.
Under $350 million (6): 11 years/$308 million, 9 years/$315 million (2x), 8 years/$320 million, 9 years/$340 million, 9 years/$342 million
$350-$399 million (4): 8 years/$352 million, 10 years/$375 million, 12 years/$375 million, 11 years/$380 million
$400-499 million (8): 10 years/$400 million, 11 years/$400 million, 11 years/$418 million, 10 years/$420 million (2x), 10 years/$425 million, 12 years/$425 million, 10 years/$450 million
At least $500 million (2): 10 years/$500 million, 12 years/$550 million
The average of all 20 projections is 10.1 years, $391.5 million, for a $38.8 million average annual value (AAV).
The median projection of those deals is $390 million.
Who are the closest comps?
Tucker’s consistent standout performance (five straight 4-5 fWAR seasons and five straight hitting performances 30% better than league average) makes it hard to find a recent free agent comparison. He’s 10th in baseball in WAR over the last five seasons.
Over the last four free agent classes, the $150M+ position players don’t have a great fit for a comp. Soto’s $765 million deal and Ohtani’s $700 million deal aren’t useful. Shortstops Willy Adames, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, Dansby Swanson, Marcus Semien and Corey Seager are positionally quite different, though Seager isn’t a terrible secondary comp. Freddie Freeman was three years older than Tucker as a free agent and Aaron Judge was two years older, while also coming off of an 11.1 WAR season with 62 homers, so neither seems that relevant. Kris Bryant was already trending down when he hit free agency, while Brandon Nimmo was trending up but had years of durability concerns.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s $500 million April extension with the Toronto Blue Jays is the comp that kept coming up with those we surveyed. Vlad’s extension kicks in next year for his age-27 season, while Tucker will be 29. It’s only two years, but it’s a very important two years in projecting the value in a long-term deal. Tucker has more baserunning and positional value, but he’s still a corner outfielder. Guerrero’s extension was signed outside of a competitive bidding situation, with the perception being that the Jays paid a little more than the market would bear to lock up their franchise player after a last-place American League East finish last season and with fellow core player Bo Bichette still unsigned.
Who are Tucker’s potential suitors?
There was little confidence from those surveyed (none of whom work for the Cubs) about the Cubs winning a bidding war for Tucker. The Los Angeles Dodgers, longtime fans of Tucker, were mentioned by a number of industry insiders. We didn’t ask about a projected team, so the Dodgers coming up often seems to be indicative of a feeling in the industry that they’re the team to beat.
Putting all of those pieces together, you can see why a contingent of the industry thinks Tucker will land somewhere around Guerrero’s extension, some think he’ll end up closer to $300 million, but most have him around $400 million, give or take, which is also where Jeff Passan’s sources led him.
Kyle Schwarber
How much could Schwarber get?
Here are the 20 responses from our panel, grouped in tiers by total dollars.
Under $100 million (2): 4 years/$72 million, 3 years/$90 million
$100-$125 million (11): 3 years/$100 million, 4 years/$100 million, 4 years/$110 million (2x), 4 years/$112 million (3x), 5 years/$118 million, 4 years/$120 million (2x), 3 years/$125 million
$126-180 million (5): 4 years/$140 million, 6 years/$150 million, 4 years/$160 million, 5 years/$160 million, 4 years/$180 million
At least $200 million (2): 6 years.$200 million, 7 years/$245 million
The average of all 20 projections is 4.3 years, $131.8 million, for a $30.7 million average annual value (AAV).
The median projection of those deals is $119 million.
Who are the closest comps?
A handful of comps come up for Schwarber:
J.D. Martinez: Five years, $110 million going into his age-30 season in 2018 (45 HRs, 4.3 WAR walk year)
Paul Goldschmidt: Five years, $130 million going into his age-32 season in 2020 (33 HRs, 4.6 WAR in walk year)
Freeman: Six years, $162 million going into his age-32 season in 2022 (31 HRs, 4.7 WAR in walk year)
The comp math would say Schwarber should get one year less than the shortest deal above due to his age (thus, four years) and land in the $25-30 million average annual value (AAV) area, which is right where those surveyed ended up.
Who are Schwarber’s potential suitors?
Conversely to the Tucker/Cubs situation, a lot of those surveyed think there’s a strong chance the Phillies will act quickly after the season ends to bring Schwarber back. Either way, he seems to be a target for a contending team looking to beef up the middle of its lineup in the short term, and hopefully not have an albatross on its ledger at the end of the deal.
All of those teams would be conscious of luxury tax numbers, and a rival agent brought up an interesting wrinkle he’s expecting to see: Schwarber will get that fifth year, for a little added money, to get the AAV down.
A number of teams should be interested at that low-nine-figure area, as the predictions suggest, but there could eventually be a landing spot closer to $150 million with enough competitive bidding. That said, some teams simply can’t stomach that kind of money for an older DH.
Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout finally homered Thursday night in Seattle, ending a career-long 28-game homerless drought that put him one shy of reaching 400 for his career.
Trout launched his 399th homer, sending a 3-2 fastball from Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller over the left-center-field wall to tie the score at 4 in the fifth inning. Seattle went on to win 7-6 in 12 innings.
It was Trout’s 21st homer of the season and his first since Aug. 6, a span of 125 plate appearances. Trout admitted that reaching the 400-homer milestone had been on his mind in August.
“I was thinking about it for a little bit in the beginning,” said Trout, a three-time American League MVP and 11-time All-Star. “But now I’m just trying to put good swings on the ball. I know it’s going to come. I’m not trying to go up there and try to hit a home run. My whole career is just putting good swings on balls and they’ve gone over the fence.”
Thursday night’s homer was the 56th of Trout’s career against the Mariners, four more than any other player against Seattle. He is batting .235 with 58 RBIs this season.
New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge wasted no time moving past another all-time great on the team’s career home run list Thursday night.
Just two days after passing Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra for fifth place on the franchise list, Judge hit home runs in his first two at-bats in a 9-3 victory against the Detroit Tigers to tie another Hall of Famer, Joe DiMaggio, for fourth with 361 career home runs.
Hall of Famers Babe Ruth (659 homers), Mickey Mantle (536) and Lou Gehrig (493) are ahead of Judge on the Yankees’ career homers list.
“Joe DiMaggio, Joe DiMaggio, it feels like that’s been there forever,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Joe DiMaggio in a lot of ways transcended baseball. So to be next to him on the list and as he’s going to be waving as he’s going by, it’s impressive and a bit of privilege having a front-row seat to that.”
With President Donald Trump in attendance to mark the 24-year anniversary of 9/11, the two-time MVP got the Yankees on the board with a 413-foot blast to left-center field off Tyler Holton for his 18th home run in the first inning this season, which ties a major league record set by himself (2024) and Alex Rodriguez (2001).
“It’s just an important day for all of us to come together, so it’s just kind of a surreal moment, surreal day,” Judge said.
Judge reached 45 home runs in a season for the fourth time, which is tied with Gehrig for the second most in Yankees history behind Ruth (nine).
It didn’t take Judge long to hit No. 46 and tie DiMaggio. In the third inning, Judge hammered a 434-foot shot — also to left-center field with an exit velocity of 114.9 mph — on a 1-0 fastball from Sawyer Gipson-Long to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead.
Judge tied DiMaggio in his 1,129th regular-season game and has nine homers in 33 contests since returning from the injured list last month.
He had three hits and ended the night with a major-league-best .322 batting average, three points ahead of Athletics rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson. It was the 45th career multihomer game for Judge, which ranks third in Yankees history behind Ruth (68) and Mantle (46).
Holton and Gipson-Long became the 272nd and 273rd pitchers to allow a homer to Judge, who has six multihomer games this season.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.