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ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Steelers “remain in contact with Aaron Rodgers and are hopeful that he’ll be a Steeler.”
William Contreras is playing with a fractured middle finger on his catching hand.
Contreras had X-rays last night, which revealed the fracture. It is reportedly an old fracture that “has bothered him for some time.” Contreras has played through it and will continue to do so. However, his catching hand is also the lead hand for his swing, so the fracture may be impacting some of his quality of contact. His barrel rate is just 3.1 percent on the season, and his average exit velocity is down almost three mph while posting a career-low hard hit rate. His bat speed has also fallen, with him ranking in the 65th percentile with an average bat speed of 72.8 mph after posting a 74.7 mph mark last year.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Cowboys’ plan is for George Pickens “to play out his rookie deal.”
It looks like we won’t see any sort of long-term contract struck between Pickens and the Cowboys after the mercurial wideout was traded from the Steelers to Dallas in exchange for a 2026 third round draft pick and a 2027 fifth rounder. Dallas coaches and Jerry Jones likely want to see how Pickens, 24, acclimates to his new team after alienating coaches and teammates in Pittsburgh last season. Pickens, who has 2,841 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns over three NFL seasons, will immediately become the team’s No. 2 option behind CeeDee Lamb and a much-needed deep ball target for Dak Prescott.
Rangers signed RHP Cory Abbott to a minor league contract.
Abbott had a 2.40 ERA in 15 innings for los Tecos de los Dos Laredos in the Mexican Independent League, striking out 15 batters and walking eight in an extremely hitter-friendly environment. He’s the third player signed out of the Mexican Independent League this week, with the Rangers also signing Robert Dugger and the Dodgers signing Nick Senzel. Abbott figures to join the starting rotation for Triple-A Round Rock.
Yordan Alvarez (hand) was diagnosed with a muscle strain on the top of his right hand.
The injury was previously reported as “inflammation,” but now we know that the inflammation is the result of a strain. Astros manager Joe Espada said the diagnosis was “good news,” and the team still hopes Alvarez will have a minimum stint on the IL, but he’ll obviously need to wait for the strained muscle or tendon to heal, which might take more than a week depending on the severity of the strain.
Royals signed RHP Stephen Nogosek to a minor league contract.
The 30-year-old last appeared in an MLB game for the Mets back in 2023. He was in the Nationals organization last season, but was released in May after posting a 9.77 ERA in 15 2/3 innings. He has a 5.02 career ERA in 57 1/3 MLB innings and figures to serve as organizational depth for the Royals’ bullpen.