Pitchers and catchers are almost back—less than a week now until spring training. But teams aren’t done tinkering. The Yankees just proved it, swinging a trade with the Athletics to shore up their infield depth.

According to Bob Nightengale from USA Today, the Yankees picked up infielder Max Schuemann from Oakland in exchange for righty Luis Burgos. To make room, they’ll designate Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment.

Schuemann used to be a top prospect with the A’s, but things haven’t really clicked for him in the majors. Oakland added Andy Ibáñez and bumped Schuemann off the roster, which is when the Yankees pounced. They’re not complaining; you can never have too much infield depth.

Schuemann’s time in the big leagues has been a mixed bag. He was No. 21 on Oakland’s prospect list heading into 2024 and finally broke through to the majors that year. In his rookie season, he played a whopping 133 games, hit .220, and posted a .619 OPS. Seven home runs, 34 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases—plus, he played everywhere in the infield except first base and catcher.

Things got rough last year, though. Schuemann’s bat cooled off—he slashed just .197/.295/.273 with two homers, 13 RBIs, seven steals, and a 0.2 bWAR. Again, he bounced all over the field, but the offence just wasn’t there. The thing is, his defence is solid—a plus-8 Outs Above Average kept him around for 101 games.

The Yankees need him to hit. The glove plays, no question, but he won’t crack the 26-man roster unless his bat picks up. Realistically, Schuemann probably starts the year in the minors.

Where does he fit in New York? The Yankees have no shortage of infielders. Jazz Chisholm, Jose Caballero, and Ryan McMahon are pencilled in as starters. Don’t forget Anthony Volpe—he’ll miss the start of the season, but Aaron Boone trusts him when he’s back.

Schuemann can handle the outfield, too, but the Yankees are loaded there. Judge, Bellinger, and Grisham—they’re not moving aside. A starting role at Yankee Stadium just isn’t in the cards for Schuemann.

Still, he’s got a shot at a bench job. With his versatility and strong glove, he could edge out some of New York’s other utility guys. Amed Rosario and Oswaldo Cabrera are in the mix as well, so it won’t be easy.

Bottom line: Schuemann will get his chance this spring. If he hits, he’s got a real shot at making the team. If not, well, there’s always room for solid defence and versatility, but he’ll have to earn it.

Jutta Leerdam just snagged her first Olympic gold in the women’s 1,000-metre speed skating final. Oh, and she’s engaged to Jake Paul.

The 2026 Winter Olympics are happening in Milan, Italy. And during the Games, Jutta pulled off the win of her life in the 1,000-metre final. Jake Paul was right there in the crowd, totally caught up in the moment, cheering her on. The race itself was intense—15 heats altogether—Jutta skated the final one against Miho Takagi, the reigning Olympic and world champ from Japan. Before the big event, Jake fired off a message to her on social media: “Today is your day, baby. You’ve worked your whole life for this. We all love and support you so much; go get ’em, champ.”

Now, about Jutta and Jake—how did these two even meet?

Turns out, Jutta was busy training and dominating the speed skating world when Jake slid into her Instagram DMs. So yeah, it all started online.

“Jake sent me a DM on Instagram and asked if I wanted to be on his podcast,” Jutta said in the “Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson” documentary. She just thought, “Okay, let’s do it. Could be good, could be fun.”

But love? That was a total surprise. She admitted in the doc, “I never, ever expected to date him, like never. I didn’t know much about him. All I could do was scroll through his Instagram and guess—like everyone else. But he’s the complete opposite of what I thought.”

At first, she actually thought his flirting was weird. Even Jake Paul gets awkward sometimes. Jutta had her doubts—she figured Jake would be, well, Jake Paul, the loud and wild internet guy who’s always in the headlines. And when he tried to flirt? Jake himself called it “weird”. But apparently, weird worked. Now they’re one of the most talked-about couples in sports.

They went Instagram official in April 2023. After a lot of talking and getting to know each other, they realised they clicked—despite their hectic, crazy lives. “We really clicked in these two fast-paced worlds on a deep and super personal level,” Jutta said. Their connection was obvious, and in April, Jake made it public with a post: “I’m Dutch now.”

Both of them were already huge online before they got together. But as a couple? Their fame exploded.

Of course, their lives are busy—they’ve done a lot of long-distance. Between training, matches, events, and everything else, they’ve had to make it work. But they keep showing up for each other. She’s at his fights; he’s at her races.

In “Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson”, Jake called her “the most amazing woman there is” and “a superwoman”. He didn’t stop there: “Not only is she the most beautiful, but she’s an Olympic athlete, six-time world champion, and the sweetest soul in the world.”