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YANKEES EYE TOMMY PHAM: THE SCRAPPY VETERAN WHO COULD REPLACE CODY BELLINGER IN LEFT

The Yankees are considering Tommy Pham and Austin Hays as Cody Bellinger alternatives. We analyze the stats and clubhouse impact.

Yankees Eye Tommy Pham: The Scrappy Veteran Who Could Replace Cody Bellinger In Left
Yankees Make Second Offer To Bellinger As Tommy Pham Rumours Swirl

The Yankees eye Tommy Pham as a backup if Bellinger signs elsewhere.

The Yankees are making backup plans in case Cody Bellinger heads somewhere else this offseason. Bellinger’s one of the hottest free agents out there right now—lots of teams want him—but nobody’s locked him down yet. He’s still the Yankees’ top choice, but they haven’t made a deal, so they’re looking at other options just in case.

If Bellinger slips away, Yankees insider Brendan Kuty from The Athletic says the team might turn to Tommy Pham as a replacement. Austin Hays is another name in the mix. He’s a free agent, too and could share time with Jasson Domínguez. Last season, Hays hit .319 with two home runs and a .949 OPS against lefties in 105 plate appearances. For his career, he’s got a .819 OPS versus lefties. Pham’s also a free agent and owns a career .802 OPS against lefties.

Pham would be a bit of a curveball for the Yankees. He’d probably end up in a platoon with Domínguez or Spencer Jones. And let’s be honest, Pham’s got a reputation—he’s been in plenty of on-field dust-ups and has made headlines on social media. It’s not clear if the Yankees want that kind of drama in the clubhouse.

But the guy can still play. Last year with the Pirates, Pham hit .245 with 10 homers and 52 RBIs. He’s also got playoff experience—37 games under his belt.

And Pham doesn’t shy away from confrontation. Remember last season against the Blue Jays? After a walk, he flipped his bat and chirped at catcher Tyler Heineman, thinking Heineman said something to him. Heineman later said it was all just weird and unprovoked. Pham fired back online, saying it was disrespectful for Heineman to question the umpire’s strike zone, calling him out publicly. Blue Jays fans can’t stand him now, so honestly, he might fit right in with the Yankees.

On the Bellinger front, the Yankees haven’t given up. They even put a second offer on the table. According to Joel Sherman, the Yankees are also talking to the Marlins about pitcher Edward Cabrera. The thinking is, if they know Bellinger’s coming back to play left field—Grisham in centre, Judge in right—it’d be easier to trade away Domínguez or Jones for pitching help.

Cabrera ended up getting traded to the Cubs, but that’s not the end of the story. The Yankees are probably still looking for another starter, but first, they need to figure out if Bellinger is coming to New York or not. That’s the domino that needs to fall before the rest of the offseason moves can happen.

HAMMER DROPPED: DILLON BROOKS SUSPENDED BY NBA AFTER HITTING 16TH TECHNICAL FOUL LIMIT

Dillon Brooks hits the 16-technical foul limit! Discover the cost of his suspension and how it affects the Phoenix Suns' season.

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Dillon Brooks is the "bad guy" the NBA needs

Dillon Brooks just picked up a one-game suspension from the NBA; his 16th technical foul of the season finally caught up with him. If you’ve followed Brooks at all, this probably doesn’t surprise you. The guy’s known for playing right up to the edge, stirring things up on the court, and, honestly, not backing down from anyone. This latest tech happened in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder, after a run-in with referee James Williams. That was all the NBA needed to drop the hammer.

The league released a pretty standard statement: “Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks has been suspended one game without pay for receiving his 16th technical foul of the 2025-26 season,” signed off by James Jones, who runs basketball ops for the Suns. Because of the suspension, Brooks will lose a chunk of change, $121,403, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

After the game, Brooks sounded tired of the whole thing. “I had a ref tell me that I play the victim, so I ain’t talking no more about that,” he told reporters. “Yeah. He said I’m playing victim all the time. And when I don’t play victim, I’m the bad guy.” When pressed, Brooks didn’t hold back. “If you’re going to be consistently bad, then be consistently bad throughout the whole game. Don’t try to fix it during the game. Don’t try to even out foul calls or whatever it may be. If you’re going to be bad, be bad the whole game.”

The NBA isn’t budging on this one. Brooks will sit out the Suns’ first game after the All-Star break. Hitting 16 technicals in a season triggers an automatic one-game suspension. And it doesn’t stop there; every two more technicals means another game on the bench, no pay.

Brooks is actually having a career year in Phoenix, averaging 21.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, shooting 44.1% from the field, 34.3% from three, and 85.6% from the line. But now, with this suspension hanging over him, he’ll have to rein it in if he wants to stay on the court.

This season’s been wild with NBA suspensions, not just Brooks. The massive brawl between the Pistons and Hornets stands out. Four players got tossed and then suspended: Isaiah Stewart (aka Beef Stew) and Jalen Duren for Detroit, and Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate for Charlotte. Stewart got seven games for charging off the bench and into the fight. Duren, who just made his first All-Star team, got two games but will still play in the All-Star Game. Bridges and Diabate each got four games for “fighting and escalating the altercation”, per the league.

And that’s not all. Jaxson Hayes of the Lakers got suspended for a game after shoving a mascot. Yes, really. He apologised but still had to sit. Rudy Gobert picked up a one-game ban for racking up too many flagrant fouls. Dennis Schroder, back when he was with Sacramento, drew a three-game suspension for a post-game incident with Luka Donci, who he reportedly tried to take a swing at in the arena tunnel. Jose Alvarado and Mark Williams both got two games for fighting earlier in the year.

Then there’s Paul George, who got hit with a whopping 25-game suspension for violating the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. That’s the longest one in recent memory.

As for who’s next in the technical foul race, Luka Doncic has 13, Stewart has 12, and Draymond Green sits at 11. If any of them hit 16, expect a similar one-game vacation from the league.

MVG MASTERCLASS: MICHAEL VAN GERWEN KNOCKS OUT LUKE LITTLER TO REACH ANTWERP FINAL TODAY

Michael van Gerwen is back! Read how he defeated Luke Littler in Antwerp to secure his second straight Premier League final.

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Michael van Gerwen secures back-to-back Premier League finals in 2026.

Michael van Gerwen is looking like his old self again. He just knocked Luke Littler out of night two at Premier League Darts and did it in style.

Littler, who’s only 19, picked up his first win of the Premier League season on Thursday; he edged out his long-time rival Luke Humphries in a wild match in Antwerp. But that run didn’t last. In the semi-finals, he ran straight into a fired-up Van Gerwen.

Last year was rough for Van Gerwen, no way around it. But now? He’s come roaring back. He won the opening night in Newcastle and just added Littler’s name to his growing list of big wins.

Fans loved it. “That was a quality performance from Van Gerwen! “Back-to-back finals for MVG,” someone posted online. Another said, “If this version of Van Gerwen is here to stay, darts are going to be in a better place by the end of 2026!” The excitement kept rolling—"Darts is always better when MVG plays like this,” one fan wrote. And then: “He is so back. This is his year!” Someone else just put it simply: “MVG is so back, and you love to see it!”

Even on Sky Sports, Dan Dawson couldn’t help himself: “Michael van Gerwen is in back-to-back finals to start this year’s Premier League. The Green Machine sees off The Nuke.”

Littler’s stuck at just two points from the first two weeks, while Van Gerwen could walk away with two weekly wins already.

Now Van Gerwen waits to see if he’ll face Johnny Clayton or Gerwyn Price in the final in Belgium. Both Welshmen got there by beating Stephen Bunting and Gian van Veen.

Littler, on the other hand, really needs a deep run next Thursday in Glasgow to get his campaign back on track. Two points in two weeks just isn’t enough.

Premier League Standings

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