World Series Game 1: Tucker homers twice but Phillies roar back to tie it
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Jeff Passan
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Jeff Passan
Senior MLB Insider
- ESPN MLB insider
Author of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” -
Jesse Rogers
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Jesse Rogers
ESPN Staff Writer
- Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
Right-hander Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a one-year, $15 million contract, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, continuing the future Hall of Famer’s career at age 42 in one of the pitcher-friendliest stadiums in baseball.
Verlander, entering his 20th major league season, is considered perhaps the best pitcher of his generation, with the most innings pitched, strikeouts and wins among active players. A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Verlander is coming off the worst season of his career and joins a Giants team likewise looking for better results than 2024. The deal is pending a physical.
Shoulder and neck injuries limited Verlander to 17 starts, and over his last seven he posted an 8.10 ERA. With a falling strikeout rate and climbing home run rate, Verlander began to show signs of aging after a career in which he seemed impervious to it.
After a dominant 13-year stretch with the Detroit Tigers, Verlander found a second life after joining the Houston Astros in 2017. He won Cy Youngs in 2019 and 2022 — and after the latter signed a two-year, $86.6 million contract with the New York Mets. Verlander spent 16 starts with the Mets before being traded back to the Astros in August 2023.
Over his career, Verlander is 262-147 with a 3.30 ERA over 3,415⅔ innings. He has struck out 3,416 batters, walked 952 and won a pair of World Series with the Astros.
Returning to Houston wasn’t an option for 2025. With Oracle Park a dream for pitchers, Verlander gravitated toward the Giants, whose rotation includes right-hander Logan Webb, left-handers Robbie Ray and Kyle Harrison, and a number of other options for the fifth spot, with right-hander Hayden Birdsong seen as the likeliest candidate.
The Giants had spent a month with limited action before signing Verlander. A month ago to the day, they agreed with shortstop Willy Adames on a seven-year, $182 million contract.
San Francisco, which hired former star catcher Buster Posey as its president of baseball operations in September, went 80-82 last season and finished in fourth place in the National League West, which is arguably the best division in baseball.
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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
Georgia added another potential playmaker to its receiving corps on Tuesday, as former Texas A&M standout Noah Thomas committed to play for the Bulldogs in 2025.
Thomas, who has one season of eligibility remaining, led the Aggies with 39 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns this past season.
On Sunday, the Bulldogs added former USC receiver/kick returner Zachariah Branch, who was the No. 9 overall player and No. 4 receiver in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings. He had 1,863 all-purpose yards with the Trojans in two seasons and returned two kickoffs for scores in 2023.
At 6-foot-6, Thomas gives the Bulldogs a much-needed target in the red zone, which they were lacking this past season. His best performance came in a 43-41 loss in four overtimes at Auburn on Nov. 23, with five catches for 124 yards with two scores. He had six receptions for 109 yards and one score in a 21-17 victory over Arkansas on Sept. 28.
Earlier Tuesday, receiver Dillon Bell announced that he’ll return to Georgia for one more season. The junior had 43 catches for 466 yards with four touchdowns in 2024.
The Bulldogs are expected to lose their top two receivers: Dominic Lovett, who has exhausted his eligibility, and Arian Smith, who announced he’s forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft. Receiver Anthony Evans III also entered the transfer portal.
The Bulldogs led all FBS teams with 36 receiver drops this season, according to ESPN Research.
Georgia also landed two safeties from the transfer portal on Tuesday: Miami’s Jaden Harris and UAB’s Adrian Maddox, who had committed to Florida on Sunday. Harris started 13 games for the Hurricanes this past season and had 40 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1 interception.
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Pete Thamel, Senior College Sports Insider
After showing signs of life on offense in 2024, Iowa is making moves to carry that momentum into 2025.
Former South Dakota State star quarterback Mark Gronowski has committed to Iowa, he told ESPN on Tuesday.
Gronowski, who made an official visit to Iowa on Jan. 3, also strongly considered the NFL, as he had already been issued an invite to the NFL scouting combine, sources told ESPN.
He is the top remaining quarterback in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings, the No. 4 overall quarterback and No. 19 overall player. He’s the most experienced and accomplished quarterback available in this cycle.
“It’s a great coaching staff,” Gronowski told ESPN of the Hawkeyes. “With Coach [Tim] Lester being there and being in the NFL last year and bringing an NFL offense to Iowa, it’s a great opportunity to develop as a player, learn an NFL offense and win a lot of games.”
He comes from a dominant career at South Dakota State, where he tied the FCS all-time mark with 49 wins as a starting quarterback and won two national titles.
Gronowski brings dual-threat capability to the Hawkeyes, as he’s thrown for 10,330 yards and 93 touchdowns and ran for 1,767 yards and 37 touchdowns.
“The culture at Iowa reminds me a lot of the classic Midwest culture I grew up in,” Gronowski said. “It’s a family atmosphere, and all the coaches are welcoming. It’s a similar situation to where I’ve been. It’s a big part of why I ended up going there.”
Iowa finished 129th out of 130 teams in scoring offense in 2023, averaging 15.4 points per game. The Hawkeyes improved this season under Lester, averaging 27.7 points per game to rise to No. 72 in the rankings.
Lester worked for the Green Bay Packers prior to coming to Iowa and brought with him the NFL offense run by Matt LaFleur that’s derived from Kyle Shanahan’s tree.
That appealed to Gronowski.
“It’s the Shanahan system that they are running there,” Gronowski said. “That’s what a lot of NFL teams are running. My goal throughout the process of transferring was getting in a situation to become the best player and be the best potential prospect for the NFL.”
There’s still plenty of work to go in Iowa’s passing game after they averaged 131.6 yards per game through the air this season — fifth worst in college football.
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