The New York Mets on Wednesday continued to upgrade their bullpen, as the club acquired submarine-throwing reliever Tyler Rogers from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for outfield prospect Drew Gilbert, pitching prospect Blade Tidwell and reliever José Butto, according to multiple reports.
Fans immediately took to X to react to what they perceived as quite the prospect haul for the acquisition of a 34-year-old pending free agent relief pitcher, albeit one sporting a sparkling 1.80 ERA this season.
And it wasn't just fans.
Mets play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen reacted live to the hefty trade haul during the SNY broadcast of the club's game against the San Diego Padres.
"So we're getting reports on the return that the Mets are sending the Giants for Tyler Rogers," Cohen said. "And it seems like a hefty package for a rental reliever… Rogers will help, but that's a lot to give up."
Rogers, 34, uses a quirky delivery and one of the game's best sinkers to induce weak contact and a bevy of balls in the dirt by opposing hitters. He ranks in the 100th percentile in opponent barrel rate, the 94th percentile in hard-hit rate and the 99th percentile in walk rate. He also ranks third among all relievers with a 64.4 percent groundball rate.
In other words, Rogers is a strike-thrower, incredibly hard to square up and when hitters make contact, they rarely do damage with his offerings. And he's remarkably effective. Since 2021, Rogers's 2.74 ERA ranks eighth among all relievers.
He'll undoubtedly help provide reinforcements for a Mets bullpen that has been taxed with a heavy innings load at times this season.
Whether or not Rogers, who could very well pitch a half-season in New York and then leave via free agency this winter, is worth the haul the Mets coughed up remains to be seen.
But it's clear that the Mets, in a tight race with the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League East crown, are being aggressive.
Since her arrival, there are few Sri Lanka ODI victories to which their inspirational captain is not central
Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Sep-2025″From the beginning, I knew she was special.”There’s never quite been a player like Chamari Athapaththu for Sri Lanka. Shashikala Siriwardene, who captained Sri Lanka, and played international cricket for 16 years, would know.Siriwardene was already a senior in the Sri Lanka team when Athapaththu broke through. The team had been away at an Asia Cup when Athapaththu first came to their attention. Sri Lanka had played the final of that Asia Cup in Kurunegala, which as it happens is the closest city to Athapaththu’s hometown of Gokarella. But it was in Colombo, at a domestic tournament, that Athapaththu had impressed the selectors.”What I remember about Chamari at the time was how determined she was,” Siriwardene says. “She’d come very early to train. Although she lost her father during that period, she somehow found a way to make sure she could keep playing cricket, and just kept coming. Though she was young [Athapaththu was in her late teens at the time] she had that desire.Related
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The early 2010s were not an especially rich era for Sri Lankan women’s cricket. Resources were scant, with the board forever in some kind of political turmoil, which in turn led to enormous debt and even greater financial strain. There had been little consistent coaching support; for some coaches, the women’s team was a stepping stone to more high-profile roles in the men’s game.And yet it took Athapaththu little time to gain a reputation as a batter of rare power. For a Sri Lanka cricketer, her rise was astonishing. No batter from the island had hit an ODI hundred in their first 85 ODIs. Athapaththu managed it in her seventh ODI innings, crashing 111 off 110 balls against Ireland, at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. By the time she turned 22, she had two further fifties to her name, and had drawn admiration for playing shots that no one else could play.”Even back then you couldn’t really compare her to anyone else,” Siriwardene says. “She was totally unique. At her young age, the strength with which she hit the ball, and the style that she had – you can’t coach that.”For all of us in the team, that cover drive she hits for six was the special shot. We’d had six-hitters before, but that was mostly using the slog. We loved watching her go over extra cover and over the bowler’s head.”Chamari Athapaththu launches one down the ground•ACCThrough the course of those earliest years, Siriwardene remembers the seniors wrapping their arms around Athapaththu. “Her father had been the main supporter of her cricket journey, and so she really felt that loss. We all grew quite close to her during that time”There was also the fact of her precocious batting. Siriwardene was among the leaders in the team by this time, and would soon formally take over the captaincy. The decision was made about Athapaththu that a player as talented as this deserved a free hand.”She was the kind of player who even if she hadn’t played for a month, would turn up to a match and do well. But when I was captain alongside coach Harsha de Silva, we gave her a lot of freedom, so she had the space to mature. We didn’t give her any targets. We didn’t tell her what to do. We wanted her to play in her own unique way. We knew the more she grew into herself, she would lift up the team.”So watered by teammates, Athapaththu would soon bloom. In her first World Cup game, she announced herself emphatically, top scoring with 62 against England, in a famous Sri Lanka chase. Eshani Lokusuriyage would go on to play perhaps the more important innings, as Sri Lanka claimed victory off the final ball. But almost everyone agrees that win was maybe the most vital staging post in the team’s history. And Athapaththu had laid the foundation.Shashikala Siriwardene on Chamari Athapaththu: “From the beginning, I knew she was special.”•SLCSince her arrival, there are few Sri Lanka ODI victories to which Athapaththu is not central, few Sri Lankan batting records pages she does not dominate, little argument over whom the greatest cricketer the island has ever produced could be.She is the most prolific ODI batter by such a distance that if she makes a total of 181 runs in this World Cup, she will have twice as many runs as the next-best batter – Siriwardene.Sri Lanka have 11 ODI hundreds in total – Athapaththu has hit nine of those, including each of the top-seven highest individual scores. In T20Is, no other Sri Lanka batter has made triple figures, but Athapaththu alone has three, which places her equal-second in the world. In terms of just 50-plus scores, Athapaththu has 28 in ODIs. Siriwardene, the next-best again, has seven.She is such a singular weapon that she is almost certainly one of the most-studied batters in world cricket, a data-backed view having formed among oppositions that dismissing Athapaththu cheaply usually means beating Sri Lanka.Sometimes even the greatest Athapaththu innings haven’t been enough. Her 178 not out off 143 against Australia in the 2017 World Cup was arguably the greatest Sri Lanka innings played until that point (the only competitors would be other Athapaththu innings). And yet the team’s next-best score was 24, and Athapaththu’s runs comprised 69% of the team’s total. Australia sped to the target with ease.Beyond the frustrations of frequently being on the losing team despite personal heroics, there have been other obstacles. Often the late 20s and early 30s are some of the richest years of a batter’s career – a time when growing experience tends to mesh with still-sharp reflexes. Athapaththu had just turned 30 when she played her last international before the Covid lockdowns.She was almost 32 when she played her next match, Sri Lanka Cricket having refused to schedule women’s bilateral cricket for almost two years, although the men had been playing for much of that time. That hiatus, plus Sri Lanka’s low rankings had meant that Sri Lanka did not even qualify for the last ODI World Cup. There were also snubs from the major franchise leagues, particularly the Women’s Premier League, for which she was not selected in 2023 and 2024.And yet since her post-Covid return, Athapaththu’s batting has been even more exemplary. In ODIs she averages 46.37 and strikes at 98 since 2022 – a substantial improvement on her pre-Covid numbers.Sri Lanka take a victory lap around the Asia Cup win•ACCJust beyond the boundary of the ground in Dambulla, Athapaththu was pacing like a nervous parent on exam day. In the middle, two young batters were attempting to do something Sri Lanka had never done before: win an Asia Cup. Athapaththu had provided the platform for this T20I chase of 166, as usual, hitting 61 off 43 balls from the top of the order, in addition to having claimed a wicket in India’s innings.But Sri Lanka still needed 75 off 48 balls when Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari were joined at the crease. There have been years when this would have seemed too much for the remainder of the batting order. Athapaththu would have been needed to stay until the end to see a victory through.”I never actually saw Atha (younger sister), and take it.'”Dilhari had never before in her T20 career struck a six, but with 51 required to win off 34 balls, she sent a Radha Yadav delivery sailing over the deep midwicket boundary. Several overs later, Dilhari clobbered the second six of her career – down the ground this time. This one won Sri Lanka the match, and their most-prized trophy to date. In the victorious team photo after the tournament, Athapaththu crouched at the edge of the group, letting her younger team-mates have their space near the centre.Athapaththu is still 35, and shows no real signs of waning. In fact, her bowling is arguably getting better. She had picked up offspin only after making it into the national team, Siriwardene says, but had with her usual tireless work ethic, improved her bowling so substantially that she is essentially regarded as an allrounder on the league circuit. Still, Athapaththu has hinted that she’s thinking about international retirement over the past 18 months. Sri Lanka’s younger batters have been lapping up as much of her wisdom as possible.”Atha is not someone who would ever hold anything back from you,” Dilhari says. “Whatever she has learned over the years, playing all around the world, and in the leagues, she doesn’t keep to herself – she’ll tell anyone. With me, she’s talked a lot about how to adjust to different situations in the game. But also I’ve learned a lot about life from her – how to manage our cricket with other things in life.”Chamari Athapaththu brings the Women’s World Cup in to the R Premadasa Stadium•Sri Lanka CricketAthapaththu’s words aren’t all sprinkled with sweetness, Dilhari laughs. “I’m one of the players who gets scolded the most. One time, I’d dropped a catch and when I was asking her a question about where I should field, something about being dangled from a lamp-post was said. But I do really think those things also made me a better player.”Although there is a fledgling group of batters, Sri Lanka would clearly benefit from having Athapaththu around for years to come. It is in the back of many minds that this could be her last ODI World Cup, however. It is in this format that she has carved the greatest arc.”I know she’s got hopes of winning a World Cup, so we’re determined to get ourselves there, and I’m wishing Atha a lot of runs in the tournament,” Dilhari says.Athapaththu herself appears relaxed before the tournament. She doesn’t have to do it all herself anymore, she feels.”More than in the other tournaments, I’m pretty relaxed in this one,” Athapaththu said just ahead of the tournament, in Colombo. “The youngsters have been performing – Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, and Kavisha Dilhari, are all batting well. So more than other times, I’m able to relax a bit.””I’m going to be playing the game I play in the powerplay. Then, after that, the challenge is to figure out how I can change gears and do more damage. My one aim is to get Sri Lanka into the semi finals before I retire. If we can get there, we can figure out the next steps. But even getting there is big.”Sri Lanka play five of their seven round robin games in Colombo, and internally, believe themselves capable of making a deep run in this tournament. While the younger players mature, Sri Lanka will likely need their greatest player to impose herself again, to make a mark on the tournament.
Keep up to date with all the movements around the counties as preparations are made for the 2026 men’s county seasonDerbyshireIN: Matt Montgomery (Nottinghamshire) OUT: David Lloyd (retired), Alex Thomson (released) OVERSEAS: Caleb JewellDurhamIN: Kasey Aldridge (Somerset), Archie Bailey (Gloucestershire) OUT: Mitchell Killeen (Essex), Paul Coughlin (Lancashire) OVERSEAS:EssexIN: Mitchell Killeen (Durham), Zaman Akhter (Gloucestershire) OUT: Nick Browne (retired), Adam Rossington, Jamal Richards (both released) OVERSEAS: Simon HarmerGlamorganIN: Sean Dickson (Somerset) OUT: Sam Northeast (Kent), Tom Bevan (released) OVERSEAS: Colin IngramGloucestershireIN: Craig Miles (Warwickshire), Will Williams (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire) OUT: Archie Bailey (Durham), Ajeet Singh Dale (Lancashire), Zaman Akhter (Essex), Dom Goodman (Sussex), Tom Price (Sussex), Josh Shaw (Somerset) OVERSEAS: Cameron Bancroft, Gabe Bell (April-May), D’Arcy Short (T20)HampshireIN: OUT: Keith Barker (Warwickshire), Benny Howell (Nottinghamshire), Joseph Eckland (released) OVERSEAS: Kyle AbbottKentIN: Sam Northeast (Glamorgan), Matt Milnes (Yorkshire) OUT: Jack Leaning (Sussex), Nathan Gilchrist (Warwickshire), George Garrett (retired), Marcus O’Riordan, Mohammed Rizvi (both released) OVERSEAS: Keith DudgeonLancashireIN: Paul Coughlin (Durham), Ajeet Singh Dale (Gloucestershire) OUT: Will Williams (Gloucestershire), Josh Boyden (released) OVERSEAS: Marcus Harris, Chris Green (T20)LeicestershireIN: Stephen Eskinazi (Middlesex), Jonny Tattersall (Yorkshire), Josh Davey (Somerset), Ben Green (Somerset) OUT: Louis Kimber (Northamptonshire), Chris Wright, Harry Swindells (both retired), Matt Salisbury, Roman Walker (both released) OVERSEAS: Peter Handscomb, Keshav Maharaj (April-July)MiddlesexIN: Caleb Falconer (academy) OUT: Stephen Eskinazi (Leicestershire) OVERSEAS:NorthamptonshireIN: Louis Kimber (Leicestershire), Calvin Harrison (Nottinghamshire) OUT: Freddie Heldreich (released) OVERSEAS: Matthew Breetzke, Nathan McSweeney, Harry Conway (April-May), Yuzvendra Chahal (July-Sept)NottinghamshireIN: Benny Howell OUT: Calvin Harrison (Northamptonshire), Matthew Montgomery (Derbyshire), Sammy King, Dane Schadendorf (both released) OVERSEAS: Kyle Verreynne, Fergus O’Neil (April-June)SomersetIN: Josh Shaw (Gloucestershire) OUT: Kasey Aldridge (Durham), Sean Dickson (Glamorgan), Josh Davey (Leicestershire), Ben Green (Leicestershire), Andrew Umeed (released) OVERSEAS: Riley Meredith (T20), Migael PretoriusSurreyIN: Ralphie Albert (academy) OUT: OVERSEAS:SussexIN: Danny Briggs (Warwickshire), Jack Leaning (Kent), Dom Goodman (Gloucestershire), Tom Price (Gloucestershire) OUT: Ari Karvelas, Bertie Foreman, Archie Lenham, Zach Lion-Cachet, Henry Rogers (all released) OVERSEAS: Jaydev Unadkat (June-Sept)WarwickshireIN: Keith Barker (Hampshire), Nathan Gilchrist (Kent), Jordan Thompson (Yorkshire) OUT: Danny Briggs (Sussex), Craig Miles (Gloucestershire), Moeen Ali (retired) OVERSEAS: Beau Webster (April-July)WorcestershireIN: OUT: Tom Hinley, Yadvinder Singh (both released) OVERSEAS: Usama Mir (T20), Ben Dwarshuis (T20)YorkshireIN: OUT: Matt Milnes (Kent), Jordan Thompson (Warwickshire), Jonny Tattersall (Leicestershire), Dawid Malan (Gloucestershire) OVERSEAS:
John Textor, dono da SAF do Botafogo, prestou depoimento na “‘CPI da Manipulação de Jogos” na tarde desta segunda-feira (22). O empresário norte-americana também disse que o Alvinegro foi afetado. Confira algumas respostas abaixo.
continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasBotafogoAssista ao vivo o depoimento de John Textor, dono do Botafogo, na ‘CPI da Manipulação de Jogos’Botafogo22/04/2024Fora de CampoJohn Textor sofre fratura em queda de skate e passa por procedimento cirúrgicoFora de Campo22/04/2024BotafogoJohn Textor, do Botafogo, será ouvido na CPI da Manipulação de Jogos e Apostas EsportivasBotafogo22/04/2024
➡️ Tudo sobre o Fogão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Botafogo
PRETENDE VENDER O BOTAFOGO? – Com todo o respeito, essa é a pergunta mais estúpida que poderia existir. Se eu quisesse vender a minha participação (no Botafogo), eu não estaria dizendo essas coisas ruins que estão fazendo aqui (no Brasil), não estaria falando de corrupção. Eu nunca venderia um negocio dessa forma. Tenho sido o mais transparente possível. Tenho divulgado a nossa renda aqui… Nossa renda saiu de 50 milhões de dólares em 2022 e estamos com 75 milhões de dólares um ano e meio depois. Tem sido muito bom comercialmente para a gente também. Convido a todos que venham para o brasil para o programa SAF, mas em vez disso eu passo a ser processado, perseguido e denunciado. Isso não tem sido convidativo. No rádio, em 2022, as pessoas estavam me atacando, eu amo a família Botafogo, mas eu recebo um suporte imenso pelo Botafogo e pessoas de outras equipes. Acho incrível. uma lição que aprendi no Brasil, mas dizer que estou usando isso para vender a minha participação no Botafogo, isso acaba sendo incoerente e imaginativo.
MANIPULAÇÃO DE RESULTADOS – O que nós descobrimos não é nada diferente do restante do mundo, Bélgica, França, toda a Europa. A manipulação de resultados (no futebol) é uma realidade.
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– Sou dono de um clube, quero ganhar campeonatos e se eu puder provar, além de uma margem de dúvida, que 2022 foi manipulado, que 2023 foi manipulado, juntos de outras evidências de anormalidades, poderia fazer com que o Tribunal Desportivo, a polícia e esse corpo legislativo possam tomar ações.
ERROS INTENCIONAIS – Não são erros na aplicação das regras, percebi que não era uma falha de interpretação. As regras para marcar impedimento, faltas, os jogos que assisti, que afetou o Botafogo indiretamente, tratei de enxergar por uma nova perspectiva.
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PALMEIRAS 1 X 0 VASCO – Descobri que algo errado estava acontecendo em 27/8/2023 (data de Palmeiras 1×0 Vasco), o Botafogo estava com uma grande liderança de pontos, e alguma coisa ocorre naquele jogo que pretendo discutir aqui numa sessão secreta que pensei que não seria possível ocorrer numa divisão de elite do esporte. Os jogos que eu assisti, que afetaram o Botafogo indiretamente, tratei de enxergar de forma diferente, a partir daquele 27 de agosto.
TRANSPARÊNCIA NA ESCOLHA DOS ÁRBITROS – Vimos a mesma combinação de árbitro de campo e de vídeo, há uma caixa-preta da seleção de árbitros e acredito que a CBF deveria ser mais transparente sobre a forma como os árbitros são escolhidos, como certas duplas de árbitros foram escaladas juntas em mais de 20 jogos.
RELATÓRIOS DA GOOD GAME! – Só conheci as pessoas da “Good Game!” em 2023 e me confortei em conhecê-los e descobrir que eles eram capazes de detectar que a corrupção estava ocorrendo em tempo real e espero tratar disso numa seção secreta. Esse relatório (segura um documento) de 188 páginas é de apenas um jogo, acredito que poderia ser aceito pela Justiça, é muito detalhado. Estou colocando minha credibilidade à prova, vejo como estou sendo tratado, o mundo está prestando atenção às SAFs no Brasil. Estou sendo processado na Justiça, o presidente da CBF não aceitou meu pedido para me reunir com ele por mais de um ano, eu nunca acusei o Palmeiras de nenhum tipo de irregularidade. Acredito que o Palmeiras poderia ser parte e participar, já que é inocente. Meu foco não é o Palmeiras, não é ninguém. Acredito que a integridade deveria ser respeitada.
Manchester United decided to splash the cash on their attack during the summer transfer window after they failed to win any trophies in the 2024/25 campaign.
The Red Devils opted to spend £66.4m on the signing of Slovenia international Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig to lead the line for Ruben Amorim this season.
Sesko provided an assist in the 4-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League last weekend, and has had a strong start to life at Old Trafford since his move to England.
The 6 foot 5 centre-forward has scored two goals from 1.81 xG and provided one assist across five starts in the top-flight for the Red Devils so far this season, per Sofascore.
Sesko scored 21 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions for Leipzig in the 2024/25 campaign, after a return of 18 goals in 42 outings in all competitions in his first season in Germany, per Sofascore.
The 22-year-old marksman, having already scored two league goals for United, will be hoping that he can continue to impress and be the first striker since Robin van Persie to score 20 or more Premier League goals in a season.
Why Man United have been looking for their next Robin van Persie
Manchester United have been searching for their next van Persie for around 12 years, as his haul of 26 goals in the Premier League in the 2012/13 campaign is the last time a player hit 20 league goals for the club.
The former Netherlands international, who was signed from rivals Arsenal, netted a staggering 26 goals in the top-flight that season for Sir Alex Ferguson to win the title for the Red Devils, their most recent title to date.
The highlights in the video above show just how lethal the Dutchman was in front of goal for United that season, with his incredible movement in behind and his lethal left foot that consistently buried chances past goalkeepers.
Manchester United’s top Premier League goalscorers
Season
Top scorer
24/25
Bruno Fernandes & Amad Diallo – 8
23/24
Bruno Fernandes & Rasmus Hojlund – 10
22/23
Marcus Rashford – 17
21/22
Cristiano Ronaldo – 18
20/21
Bruno Fernandes – 18
19/20
Marcus Rashford & Antony Martial – 17
18/19
Paul Pogba – 13
17/18
Romelu Lukaku – 16
16/17
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 17
15/16
Anthony Martial – 11
14/15
Wayne Rooney – 12
13/14
Wayne Rooney – 17
12/13
Robin van Persie – 26
Stats via WhoScored
As you can see in the table above, no Manchester United player has come close to what he achieved in the 2012/13 campaign since then, with no player scoring more than 18 Premier League goals.
Sesko will be hoping that he can end that drought for the Red Devils and kick on to be the 20+ goal centre-forward that the club have not had since van Persie’s incredible season, given his aforementioned record for Leipzig and the two goals he has already scored this term.
However, there is another player currently shining at Old Trafford who may be the club’s new version of van Persie, despite not being an out-and-out centre-forward.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
The Premier League giants paid £71m to sign winger Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch, and it is safe to say that he has hit the ground running in Manchester.
Why Bryan Mbeumo is Man Utd's new Robin van Persie
The Cameroon international arrived at Old Trafford as a player who had already proven himself in the Premier League during his time with the Bees, just as Van Persie had done with Arsenal prior to his move to the club in 2012.
Mbeumo scored a staggering 20 goals in 38 matches in the top-flight for Brentford in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, which means that he scored more league goals than any Manchester United player has managed since Van Persie.
As they did with the Dutchman, Manchester United are now profiting from bringing in a player who has already proven himself as a goalscorer in England, as he has provided a huge threat in front of goal for Amorim.
Mbeumo has scored five goals in ten appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils, per Sofascore, and four of those five have come in his nine outings in the Premier League.
The left-footed star scored twice against Brighton in the top-flight on Saturday and his second goal was incredibly van Persie-esque, with a brilliant run across the defenders and a terrific left-footed finish into the roof of the net with power and accuracy.
It was a goal that the former Premier League title winner would have been proud of, and it led to Alice Talks Football to describe him as “one of the best players in the league this season” on X.
25/26 Premier League
Bryan Mbeumo
Man Utd rank
xG
2.89
2nd
Shots per game
2.6
1st
Shots on target per game
1.3
1st
Goals
4
1st
Minutes per goal
194
1st
xA
2.04
1st
Assists
1
Joint-1st
Goals + assists
5
1st
Stats via Sofascore
It is hard to argue with that assessment when, as you can see in the table above, he has been the most impactful attacking player for the team that currently sit sixth in the Premier League table.
He has been the standout attacking star for United, with the most combined goals and assists and the most xA, and deserves to be in the conversation when fans and pundits speak about the best players in the league this season.
Putting all of this together, it appears as though INEOS and Amorim may have unearthed Manchester United’s new van Persie, as Mbeumo has the lethal left foot, the movement, and the experience to follow in the Dutchman’s footsteps.
Hopefully, supporters will be celebrating next May if the Cameroon international can rake in a 20-plus-goal-haul to earn the club a trophy or two at the end of the season.
Euro club's target: £105k-p/w Man Utd star is "set to move" in January
The Red Devils could be able to cut ties in January.