Yankees get Juan Soto in blockbuster trade; CBS Sports All-America Team
Yankees #Yankees
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Good morning to everyone but especially …
JUAN SOTO AND THE NEW YORK YANKEES
Start spreading the news. Juan Soto is a New York Yankee. The Padres sent the 25-year-old star to the Bronx in a blockbuster deal. Here are the moving parts:
Yes, Soto is slated to be a free agent at season’s end, and yes, he’s coming off a somewhat “down” (but still very, very good) season-and-a-half in San Diego compared to what he did with the Nationals. But this is an absolute home run of a trade for New York, R.J. Anderson writes in his trade grades.
The report card is not as glowing for the Padres, to put it nicely.
The Yankees’ projected lineup is loaded, notes Mike Axisa, and Matt Snyder outlines how the Judge-Soto pairing can work defensively, too.
Here’s more from the biggest offseason move so far:
👍 Honorable mentions 😦 And not such a good morning for … Getty Images
THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
It’s already been a tough week for the Jaguars with Trevor Lawrence’s ankle injury and Christian Kirk’s core muscle surgery. Now, they have an eight-figure scandal on their hands. Former team employee Amit Patel has been accused of stealing more than $22 million from the team from 2019-23, according to court documents.
Patel oversaw the company’s monthly financial statements and department budgets and was the administrator of the club’s virtual credit card, allegedly giving him the power and access to commit said crimes, and he used a variety of strategies to cover them up.
😔 Not so honorable mentions 🏈 Three unanimous selections lead CBS Sports All-America Team USATSI
It’s awards season in college football, and that means the CBS Sports All-America Team is here!
In total 10 players from our preseason All-America team played up to the high standard we set for them:
Alt, Taylor and Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II were the three unanimous selections in what proved to be a season full of unexpected twists and turns and breakout stars — none more so than first-team All-America quarterback Jayden Daniels of LSU.
Overall, 32 programs are represented across 55 selections (first- and second-team). Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Texas and Iowa were the only schools with multiple selections, and the SEC had the most selections of any conference with 17.
You can see both teams (and a few honorable mentions) here.
🏆 How a former voter would vote for Heisman Trophy USATSI
Once a voter, always a voter … or at least thinking like one. Dennis Dodd relinquished his Heisman Trophy ballot nearly a decade ago, but he’s still evaluating who deserves it most, and, unlike the actual voters, he can share his thought process with us.
So he did exactly that ahead of Saturday’s announcement, which will feature four finalists: Daniels, Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix and Marvin Harrison Jr. So, who comes in atop Dennis’ hypothetical ballot?
🤝 Playing matchmaker for transfer portal quarterbacks USATSI
It’s another massive year for the transfer portal — our tracker is updating seemingly nonstop — and that’s especially true at quarterback. Georgia’s Brock Vandagriff was the headliner Wednesday, choosing Kentucky as his next home.
There’s still an almost overwhelming number of top-tier options available, though: 13 players with at least a 0.900 grade according to 247Sports. And Will Backus has best fits for 10 of the nation’s top “free agent” signal callers, including a return to a home state for …
📺 What we’re watching Thursday
🏀 Pacers vs. Bucks, 5 p.m. on ESPN🏒 Stars at Capitals, 8 p.m. on ESPN🏈 Patriots at Steelers, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video🏀 Pelicans vs. Lakers, 9 p.m. on TNT🏒 Devils at Kraken, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN