With injuries and bad weather draining their rotation already, the New York Mets have agreed to a contract with veteran starter Julio Teheran, according to multiple reports.
Teheran gets a $2.5 million salary on a one-year contract and can earn another $450,000 in performance bonuses, reports say.
Teheran, a longtime Mets nemesis with rival Atlanta, spent spring training with Baltimore. The right-hander opted out of his minor league deal with the Orioles late last month when he didn’t make their Opening Day major league roster.
Teheran, a two-time All-Star, returned to the majors last year following an extended absence and went 3-5 with a 4.40 ERA in 11 starts and three relief appearances for NL Central champion Milwaukee.
David Stearns, the Mets’ new president of baseball operations, spent last season as an adviser to Brewers ownership after stepping down as their president of baseball operations in fall 2022.
Teheran, 33, is 81-82 with a 3.83 ERA in 12 big league seasons with the Braves, Angels, Tigers and Brewers. He was an All-Star with Atlanta in 2014 and 2016.
Teheran made one start for Detroit in early April 2021 and then was sidelined by a shoulder injury. He pitched in Mexico and independent ball in 2022 before finally getting back to the big leagues last May with Milwaukee.
New York is minus No. 1 starter Kodai Senga and fill-in Tylor Megill because of shoulder strains. Following two consecutive rainouts, the winless Mets (0-4) have a doubleheader Thursday against Detroit and are scheduled to play 15 games over the next 14 days before their next day off April 18.
Two other depth players for the rotation, David Peterson (torn labrum in left hip) and Max Kranick (strained left hamstring), are also sidelined.
Teheran could make his Mets debut against his former team Monday night in the opener of a four-game series at Atlanta.
The New York Post was first to report the deal between the Mets and Teheran, and SNY was first to report terms.
The Ottawa Senators have opened up a nice gap as the first wild card, with 75 points and 26 regulation wins in 65 games. Beyond them, things get interesting.
If it comes down to the regulation-wins tiebreaker at season’s end, the Rangers have an upper hand over all the rest, with 29 in that column, compared with 23 for the Jackets, Red Wings and Bruins, and just 22 for the Habs.
The Canadiens host the Panthers also at 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
The Blue Jackets face the visiting Rangers also at 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
And if they have their sights set on catching the Senators, these clubs are all rooting for the Maple Leafs, who host Ottawa (7 p.m., ESPN+). It’s a great night for multiple streaming devices!
There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 75.9 Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 22
Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 55.1 Next game: vs. WSH (Saturday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 5
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
The Texas Rangers‘ pitching staff took another hit Friday, when right-hander Jon Gray suffered a right wrist fracture.
Gray was struck by a line drive from Colorado Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia to lead off the fourth inning that knocked him out of the game.
“Not good news, not good news,” manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “It’s terrible. I feel awful for him, to be this close to getting the season going. It’s just not good news. I’ll get back in there and find out more, but right now, there is a fracture.”
Gray’s injury is the third setback for the Rangers rotation this week. The team said Thursday that left-hander Cody Bradford would start the season on the injured list because of soreness in his throwing elbow. Tyler Mahle had been scratched from a start with forearm soreness, but the right-hander returned to pitch in a minor league game Thursday.
Gray went 5-6 with a 4.47 ERA in 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Rangers last season, when he was shut down in September for a foot injury that required surgery. He is in the final year of a four-year, $56 million deal.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
TOKYO — Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, the three-time Most Valuable Player belted a long two-run homer to right field in the third inning to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, setting off a roar from the roughly 42,000 fans in attendance.
The Dodgers put on quite a power display in the third with Michael Conforto, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández all going deep to give Los Angeles a 5-0 advantage.
The Dodgers are playing in Japan as part of the Tokyo Series. The team is playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams before starting the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season in 2024. He played several seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan before coming to the U.S. in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.