WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Feeling pretty good on a Saturday night, Connor Zilisch acted like so many teenagers when he slammed an energy drink on a table and started scrolling through his phone.
Then Zilisch interrupted his session with reporters because he had to take a call.
Yeah, Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Hall of Fame driver who now fields a ride for Zilisch in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series.
That Zilisch could have been scrolling the rest of the night through congratulatory texts and TikTok highlights — and perhaps taking more calls from famous names — is what separates him from most other teenagers. The 18-year-old next big thing is a NASCAR race winner.
Zilisch raced to victory in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, saving enough fuel in a wreck-marred finish at Watkins Glen International to allow the teen sensation to take the first of what many in the industry expect to be a career full of checkered flags.
“I’ve worked so hard for this one,” Zilisch said. “I’ve been working on this one for months. It’s so special.”
Zilisch, who turned 18 in July, spent the majority of the race leading in the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports and was nowhere near the chaos in the back of the pack, but he was forced to stretch his fuel.
The race was red-flagged for about 20 minutes — where Zilisch killed time by radioing his team for college football scores — and the race was eventually forced into double overtime, though there was never a serious battle on the 2.45-mile road course for the lead.
“It’s just a sense of relief knowing that I can compete against those guys,” Zilisch said.
Zilisch has been pegged by NASCAR drivers as one of the next big future stars.
“It’s cool to have people tell me that,” he said. “I still have a long road ahead of me, a lot of races ahead of me.”
His future truly started at Watkins Glen.
“He’s been really impressive,” Cup driver William Byron said. “He’s doing all the right things and making a lot of speed out there.”
Zilisch was go-karting before he started school, and raced in Europe until he was urged by former NASCAR star Kevin Harvick to try stock car racing. Zilisch signed a multiyear development deal earlier this year with Trackhouse Racing.
He has run a variety of different series this year in the CARS Tour, ARCA, Trans-Am, IMSA and Trucks. Once he turned 18 in July, he was entered into four Xfinity Series races for JR Motorsports.
Age-eligible to compete in IMSA sports car racing, he made his debut in January as the endurance driver for Era Motorsports and picked up LMP2 class wins in both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and again at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Zilisch made an instant impact at The Glen when he trounced the field a night earlier and won the ARCA Series race.
Zilisch had only two career starts in the NASCAR national ranks, both earlier this season in the Truck Series. Pressure? He won the pole and finished fourth at Circuit of the Americas in Texas.
He landed with an Xfinity team that all but guarantees future success.
Zilisch joins the team owned by Earnhardt. The team is a perennial Xfinity title contender that has helped launch Cup Series careers for Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Byron and Tyler Reddick, among others. He’ll finish this season for Earnhardt with speedway starts at Kansas, Homestead-Miami and Phoenix.
Zilisch had time to chat with the boss.
“Thank you, I appreciate it, Dale. It’s cool, it’s really cool,” Zilisch into the phone. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. It’s a pleasure to be racing for you guys.”
Zilisch held up his phone so everyone could hear the familiar voice of NASCAR’s 15-time most popular driver.
“Tell everyone I said hi,” Earnhardt said to laughter.
Zilisch won the pole and won the first stage before he ran into his only hiccup in the race, a penalty for cutting the course during a caution that dropped him out of the top three.
He regained his lead late and earned the win — yes, a true dream come true.
“There’s a lot to think about when you’re going into your debut like this,” Zilisch said. “I had my own hotel room, so nobody to talk to, just kind of lay there in thought and dream about winning.”
Zilisch became the seventh driver in Xfinity history to win his first race in the second-tier series.
Just hold the bubbly — because he’s only 18, Zilisch was forced to spray an energy drink in victory lane.
“I prepare for every race like it’s the most important race of my life,” he said. “That’s kind of what I did today.”
The San Francisco Giants acquired three-time All-Star Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox on Sunday in a stunning trade that sent a player Boston once considered a franchise cornerstone to a San Francisco team needing an offensive infusion.
Boston received left-handed starter Kyle Harrison, right-hander Jordan Hicks, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and Rookie League right-hander Jose Bello.
The Red Sox announced the deal Sunday evening.
The Giants will cover the remainder of Devers’ contract, which runs through 2033 and will pay him more than $250 million, sources told ESPN.
The trade ends the fractured relationship between Devers and the Red Sox that had degraded since spring training, when Devers balked at moving off third base — the position where he had spent his whole career — after the signing of free agent Alex Bregman. The Red Sox gave no forewarning to Devers, who expressed frustration before relenting and agreeing to be their designated hitter.
After a season-ending injury to first baseman Triston Casas in early May, the Red Sox asked Devers to move to first base. Devers declined, suggesting the front office “should do their jobs” and find another player after the organization told him during spring training he would be the DH for the remainder of the season. The day after Devers’ comments, Red Sox owner John Henry, president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City, where Boston was playing, to talk with Devers.
In the weeks since, Devers’ refusal to play first led to internal tension and helped facilitate the deal, sources said.
San Francisco pounced — and added a force to an offense that ranks 15th in runs scored in Major League Baseball. Devers, 28, is hitting .272/.401/.504 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs, tied for the third most in MLB. Over his nine-year career, Devers is hitting .279/.349/.509 with 215 home runs and 696 RBIs in 1,053 games.
Boston believed enough in Devers to give him a 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension in January 2023. He rewarded the Red Sox with a Silver Slugger Award that season and made his third All-Star team in 2024.
Whether he slots in at designated hitter or first base with San Francisco — the Giants signed Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman to a six-year, $151 million deal last year — is unknown. But San Francisco sought Devers more for his bat, one that immediately makes the Giants — who are fighting for National League West supremacy with the Los Angeles Dodgers — a better team.
To do so, the Giants gave a package of young talent and took on the contract that multiple teams’ models had as underwater.
Harrison, 23, is the prize of the deal, particularly for a Red Sox team replete with young hitting talent but starving for young pitching. Once considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, Harrison has shuttled between San Francisco and Triple-A Sacramento this season.
Harrison, who was scratched from a planned start against the Dodgers on Sunday night, has a 4.48 ERA over 182⅔ innings since debuting with the Giants in 2023. He has struck out 178, walked 62 and allowed 30 home runs. The Red Sox optioned Harrison to Triple-A Worcester after the trade was announced.
Hicks, 28, who has toggled between starter and reliever since signing with the Giants for four years and $44 million before the 2024 season, is on the injured list because of right toe inflammation. One of the hardest-throwing pitchers in baseball, Hicks has a 6.47 ERA over 48⅔ innings this season. He could join the Red Sox’s ailing bullpen, which Breslow has sought to upgrade.
Tibbs, 22, was selected by the Giants with the 13th pick in last year’s draft out of Florida State. A 6-foot, 200-pound corner outfielder, Tibbs has spent the season at High-A, where he has hit .245/.377/.480 with 12 home runs and 32 RBIs in 56 games. Scouts laud his command of the strike zone — he has 41 walks and 45 strikeouts in 252 plate appearances — but question whether his swing will translate at higher levels.
Bello, 20, has spent the season as a reliever for the Giants’ Rookie League affiliate. In 18 innings, he has struck out 28 and walked three while posting a 2.00 ERA.
The deal is the latest in which Boston shipped a player central to the franchise.
Boston traded Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in February 2020, just more than a year after leading Boston to a franchise-record 108 wins and a World Series title and winning the American League MVP Award.
Devers was part of that World Series-winning team in 2018 and led the Red Sox in RBIs each season from 2020 to 2024, garnering AL MVP votes across each of the past four years. Devers had been with the Red Sox since 2013, when he signed as an international amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He debuted four years later at age 20.
Boston is banking on its young talent to replace Devers’ production. The Red Sox regularly play four rookies — infielders Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Carlos Narvaez — and infielder Franklin Arias and outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia are expected to contribute in the coming years.
Ohtani, 21 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament, will be used as an opener, likely throwing one inning. Because of his two-way designation, Ohtani qualifies as an extra pitcher on the roster, giving the Dodgers the flexibility to use a piggyback starter behind him.
That is essentially what will take place in his first handful of starts — a byproduct of the progress Ohtani has made in the late stages of his pitching rehab.
Ohtani, 30, initially seemed to be progressing toward a return some time around August. But he made a major step during his third simulated game from San Diego’s Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three simulated innings and compiling six strikeouts against a couple of low-level minor leaguers.
Afterward, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could return before the All-Star break. When he met with reporters prior to Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants — an eventual 5-4 victory — Roberts said it was a “possibility” Ohtani could pitch after just one more simulated game.
After the game, Roberts indicated the timeline might have been pushed even further, telling reporters it was a “high possibility” Ohtani would pitch in a big league game this week as an opener, likely during the upcoming four-game series against the Padres.
“He’s ready to pitch in a big league game,” Roberts told reporters. “He let us know.”
If you’re just getting back home from your Father’s Day activities, you had better sit down, because Sunday evening’s Boston Red Sox–San Francisco Giants trade is a doozy.
Rafael Devers, second among third basemen and seventh among hitters in fantasy points this season, is headed to the Giants, traded minutes before their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston’s return includes pitchers Kyle Harrison, who was the Giants’ scheduled starting pitcher Sunday night (subsequently scratched), pitcher Jordan Hicks, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and pitching prospect Jose Bello.
Expect Devers to continue to serve in a designated hitter-only capacity with his new team, considering his season-long stance, which is primarily an issue for his position eligibility for 2026. He might factor as the Giants’ future first baseman if given a full offseason to prepare for the shift to a new position — or it could happen sooner if he has a change of heart in his new environment.
As for the impact on Devers’ numbers, the move from Fenway Park to Oracle Park represents one of the steepest downgrades in terms of park factors, specifically run production and extra-base hits. With its close-proximity Green Monster in left field, Fenway Park is a much better environment for doubles and runs scored, Statcast reflecting that it’s 22% and 10% better than league average in those categories, respectively, compared with 8% worse and only 2% above par for Oracle Park.
Devers is a prime-age 28, with a contract averaging a relatively reasonable $31.8 million over the next eight seasons, and he’s leaving a Red Sox team where his defensive positioning — he has played all but six of his career defensive innings at third base — was a manner of much debate, to go to a team that has one of baseball’s best defensive third basemen in Matt Chapman (once he’s healthy following a hand injury). Devers’ unwillingness to play first base probably played a big part in his ultimately being traded, and it’s worth pointing out that one of the positions where the Giants are weakest is, well, also first base.
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Perez: Devers gives Giants a ‘really good offense’
Eduardo Perez, David Cone and Karl Ravech react to the Giants acquiring star 3B Rafael Devers from the Red Sox.
Devers’ raw power is immense, as he has greater than 95th percentile barrel and hard-hit rates this season. He has been in that tier or better in the latter in each of the past three seasons as well. He’s at a 33-homer (and 34 per 162 games) pace since the beginning of 2021, so the slugger should continue to homer at a similar rate regardless of his surroundings. He should easily snap the Giants’ drought of 30-homer hitters, which dates back to Barry Bonds in 2004. Devers’ fantasy value might slip slightly, mostly due to the park’s impact on his runs scored and RBIs, but he’ll remain a top-four fantasy third baseman.
If you play in an NL-only league, Devers is an open-the-wallet free agent target. He’s worth a maximum bid, considering he brings a similar ability to stars you might invest in come the July trade deadline, except in this case you’ll get an extra month and a half’s production.
Harrison is an intriguing pickup for the Red Sox, though in a disappointing development, he was immediately optioned to Triple-A Worcester. A top-25 overall prospect as recently as two years ago, Harrison’s spike in average fastball velocity this season (95.1 mph, up from 92.5) could be a signal of better things ahead. Once recalled to Fenway Park, his fantasy prospects would take a hit, as that’s a venue that isn’t forgiving to fly ball-oriented lefties, but he’d be a matchups option nevertheless.
Expect Hicks to serve in setup relief for his new team, though he’d at best be fourth in the Red Sox’s pecking order for saves.