Handing out 2026 midseason grades for all 30 MLB teams  —  It's time for first-half grades, so let's just get right to it — especially since we've technically passed the halfway point, as teams are reaching the 90-game mark of the 2026 Major League Baseball season.  —  After all, we had a World Cup game to watch!

Rangers eager to strengthen org teeming with top Draft picks  —  ARLINGTON — Looking at the Rangers' roster midway through the season, it's littered with recent top Draft picks.  —  Take Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, the former Vanderbilt teammates who went in the first round in 2021-22.

Zack Wheeler's agent criticizes MLB for All-Star snub of Phillies pitcher  —  Not long after Zack Wheeler had undergone a thrombolysis procedure to remove a blood clot near his right shoulder, his longtime agent tried to crack the pitcher's steely exterior.  The clot could have formed in his heart or his lungs last August.

What I'm hearing on Mets: Trading a catcher could fetch a bounty  —  ATLANTA — With so many contending teams needing help at catcher, the New York Mets are poised to receive interest in Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are likely to trade either player.

Ben Rice will represent Yankees at 2026 Home Run Derby  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Ben Rice will be swinging for the fences in Philly.  —  Via a social media post, the Yankees' lefty-hitting first baseman/DH confirmed his participation for Monday's Home Run Derby during All-Star week at Philadelphia.

Rogers signs agreement to become 100 percent owner of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment  —  Rogers Communications Inc. signed a $4.35 billion agreement to become the 100 percent owner of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors …

1. OF Owen Caissie (No. 47)  —  One of the questions that will hover over the Cubs this offseason is whether the team plans on making a strong bid to re-sign star right fielder Kyle Tucker in free agency.  If Tucker winds up elsewhere, that could open up the kind of playing time for Caissie …

How a mental skills coach helped Max Muncy emerge as an All-Star again  —  LOS ANGELES — Max Muncy has grown used to looking over his shoulder, but in the winter of 2020, he looked directly at the man he now credits with saving his career.  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers, fresh off a World Series title …

Guardians All-Stars Travis Bazzana, Cade Smith and Parker Messick took different paths to honor  —  CLEVELAND — Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt revealed the names of the team's three All-Stars to a full clubhouse Saturday afternoon.  —  Travis Bazzana was left speechless.  Cade Smith smiled.

MLB Trade Deadline buzz: Top targets for contenders and which teams should sell  —  We are less than a month away from the Aug. 3 trade deadline and contending teams know their biggest needs and which players they hope to target in deals.  Teams expected to be sellers will be listening …

Healthy Cardinals in thick of wild-card race, Rangers' reality and more MLB notes  —  As the St. Louis Cardinals ponder their deadline strategy, they must factor in one of the season's most remarkable developments, knowing it partly explains their unexpected success.

Aston Villa's Amadou Onana sustains ACL injury during Belgium's World Cup win  —  Aston Villa midfielder Amadou Onana is set for a lengthy spell out after sustaining a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during Belgium's World Cup win over the United States men's national team on Monday.