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Chicago Cubs officially name rookie right-hander Hayden Wesneski the No. 5 starter: ‘He’s earned it’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:07:51 GMT

Of all the trades Chicago Cubs President Jed Hoyer made since the sell-off in summer 2021, the biggest one might have involved a middle reliever instead of one of the beloved stars from the 2016 team.The Cubs sent Scott Effross to the New York Yankees on July 31, 2022, for pitching prospect Hayden Wesneski in a deal that made little noise at the time.But Wesneski proved himself from the start, throwing five scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field in his Sept. 6 debut, then dominating in his brief September audition and in Cactus League action this spring.On Saturday manager David Ross confirmed the obvious, naming Wesneski the No. 5 starter behind Marcus Stroman, Jameson Taillon, Justin Steele and Drew Smyly. Wesneski said he was “speechless” Thursday after Ross gave him the news.“Being called to the big leagues is special, but this is nothing to poo-poo on,” he told reporters at the Cubs complex Saturday.Wesneski’s parents were i...

Final Mets 26-man roster projection as spring training comes to a close

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:07:51 GMT

PORT ST. LUCIE — Mets’ manager Buck Showalter has spent the last week of the Grapefruit League season evaluating the talent he has in the big league locker room and trying to balance their spring results with the track records that some of them have.The manager made a poignant observation earlier this week: You can’t develop a track record if you don’t get the opportunity to develop one. So, will the Mets give one or two of their top prospects a chance? Or will they trust the track records of some scuffling veterans?Injuries have taken a toll on the pitching staff and the Mets are still trying to figure out how to contend with the loss of closer Edwin Diaz, but the position player group may escape spring training unscathed. Brandon Nimmo worked out all week on the back fields of the Mets’ Clover Field complex and reported no pain or soreness in his sprained right knee or right ankle. He returned to action Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals, with t...

Magic’s Wendell Carter wins 2022-23 Rich & Helen DeVos Community Enrichment Award

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:07:51 GMT

The Orlando Magic on Saturday named Wendell Carter Jr. the winner of the 2022-23 Rich & Helen DeVos Community Enrichment Award — an award that honors a player for outstanding community service.Carter, a first-time winner of the award, will be granted $25,000 from the DeVos Family Foundation to donate to the charity of his choice. Cole Anthony and Markelle Fultz, who won the award last year, were also finalists for this year’s award.The award, which has usually been given out annually since 1995, was presented during the second Orlando Wine Festival and Auction benefiting the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes.A panel of representatives based the selection on the last year of the player’s community work.“The legacy of our parents lives on through the great work in the Central Florida community by the entire Magic organization,” Magic chairman Dan DeVos said in a statement. “We congratulate Wendell as this y...

Anthony Volpe’s preparedness has Aaron Judge’s attention: ‘He just shows up ready to work’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:07:51 GMT

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Aaron Judge didn’t think twice when asked to identify one thing that has stood out the most about Anthony Volpe this spring.Judge could have mentioned Volpe’s speed, which he used to start Friday’s game with a bloop triple. Judge could have highlighted the 21-year-old’s bat-to-ball skills, which Volpe used to raise his spring training average to .314 in the Yankees’ 8-3 win over the Phillies. Judge could have even praised Volpe’s fielding and quiet confidence, both of which have helped the New Jersey native in his quest to become the Bombers’ starting shortstop.But instead, the Yankees captain singled out Volpe’s work ethic.“He just shows up ready to work. He’s prepared. Very rarely do you see that at such a young age,” Judge said, noting that neophytes can sometimes be a bit immature or unprepared for big moments. “But he’s seemed ready to go every single game I’ve play behi...

Bruins notes: Garnet Hathaway looking good in black and gold

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:07:51 GMT

Garnet Hathaway looks ready for the playoffs to start. And the Maine native has looked ready to be a Bruin his whole life.Hathaway was front and center in a taut, grind-it-out game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. He stood toe-to-toe with big Pat Maroon in a fight to start the game and then scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal late in the second period in the B’s Atlantic Division-clinching 2-1 win over the Bolts.Hathaway is exactly what the Bruins bargained for when they got him in a trade with the Washington Capitals with Dmitry Orlov.“He’s been great,” said Patrice Bergeron, whose line was often checked by Hathaway’s line before the trade. “I’ve always liked his game. I guess you don’t like playing against him, but he’s very efficient, very good for his team. He came in and fit in nicely on that line, but also off the ice. He’s a great guy. He seems to be a character guy. He’s leading his own way, leading b...

Challenger wins close race to lead United Auto Workers union

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:07:51 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — A challenger defeated the president of the United Auto Workers in a close election and vowed Saturday to take a more confrontational stance in negotiating with the big automakers.A court-appointed monitor declared challenger Shawn Fain the winner over incumbent Ray Curry. Fain’s slate of candidates won control of the big union, as workers rejected most incumbents in the wake of a bribery and embezzlement scandalIt was the 372,000-member union’s first direct election of its 14-member International Executive Board, which came in the wake of the wide-ranging scandal that landed two former presidents in prison. The vote count had been going on since March 1, and the outcome was uncertain going into Saturday because of challenges against several hundred ballots. Curry had filed a protest alleging election irregularities and campaign-financing violations. But he conceded Saturday and said Fain would be sworn in on Sunday.Fain said members clearly wanted the union to b...

Search on for missing in deadly chocolate factory explosion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:07:51 GMT

WEST READING, Pa. (AP) — An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania on Friday killed two people and left five people missing, authorities said. One person was pulled alive from the rubble overnight.Rescue crews using dogs and imaging equipment continued to search through the rubble Saturday — hours after the blast that erupted just before 5 p.m. Friday at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in the borough of West Reading, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia.West Reading officials on Saturday confirmed two fatalities. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency had earlier said there were five fatalities, citing county emergency management officials, but after an update from the county also indicated that two had died and five were missing.Chief of Police Wayne Holben said the rescue of one person from the rubble “provides hope that others still may be found.” Rescue workers were continuing a thorough search using specialized equipment and techniques. Officials s...

Mourners gather for American killed by cartel on Mexico trip

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:07:51 GMT

LAKE CITY, S.C. (AP) — Photos of a peewee football player flashed across a slideshow. The image of a smiling young man adorned memorial T-shirts. But the body of the American gunned down three weeks ago by the Gulf cartel in Mexico was kept shielded from funeral-goers.Over 100 people gathered Saturday to remember Shaeed Woodard at the first funeral service for the two people killed in the attack that heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries. The sendoff came at the end of a month that should have featured birthday celebrations for the man slain just days before he turned 34 during a tightknit group’s road trip to help Woodard’s cousin get cosmetic surgery.Instead, friends and family shuffled across the maroon carpeting of Good News Deliverance Temple on an overcast afternoon in Lake City, South Carolina. The 6,000-person town was thrust into the international spotlight when reports circulated early March that Woodard and three friends with ties to the are...

15-year-old shot in the groin in West Englewood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:07:51 GMT

CHICAGO — A 15-year-old boy is in the hospital after getting shot in the groin late Saturday afternoon, according to the Chicago Police Department.Police said a 15-year-old boy was in an alley around 4:46 p.m. in the 7100 block of South Wood Street when he suffered a gunshot wound to the groin by an unknown offender.The victim was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in good condition. Man dead after hit and run crash in West Loop Police have no one in custody. Area One detectives are investigating.If you or someone you know has information that could help detectives make a breakthrough in the investigation of this case, anonymous tips can be filed online at cpdtip.com.

Cuban migrants land in Florida airport in hang glider

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:07:51 GMT

KEY WEST, Fla. (WFLA) — Typically when Florida law enforcement has to intervene in migrant landings, it's usually from the sea.However, two Cuban migrants showed some ingenuity when they managed to make it all the way to the Key West International Airport on a powered hang glider, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. Florida babysitter arrested after putting lit cigarette in 1-year-old’s mouth: deputies Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar said no one was injured in th landing. However, the migrants were taken into Border Patrol custody.This isn't the first time a Cuban migrant made it to the Sunshine State by air. Last October, a Cuban migrant landed a Russian plane in South Florida.