Sports briefs 7/17
Pirates get Hassell from Nationals
The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired one-time top prospect Robert Hassell III from the Washington Nationals on Thursday for cash or a player to be named later.
The 24-year-old outfielder has hit .215 with two homers and 21 RBIs for Triple-A Rochester this year. Hassell made his big league debut with the Nationals last season, batting .223 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 70 games.
Hassell was a first-round draft choice in 2020 by the San Diego Padres. He was a top-40 prospect according to MLB Pipeline in 2022 and 2023, and he was part of the 2022 deal that sent Juan Soto to the Padres.
Other players who went from San Diego to Washington in that trade — James Wood, CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore — have been productive, but Hassell has yet to establish himself in the big leagues.
Baseball
Philadelphia Phillies reliever Brad Keller is expected to miss the rest of this season — and possibly more — with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
Keller was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday and said he will seek a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister, a top specialist, before making a determination about surgery.
If the right-hander requires Tommy John surgery, he likely would miss most if not all of the 2027 season as well.
Philadelphia signed Keller to a $22 million, two-year contract last December to be the team’s primary setup man for All-Star closer Jhoan Duran.
NHL
Connor McMichael has signed a six-year, $40.5 million contract with the St. Louis Blues.
General manager Alex Steen, who took over the job from Doug Armstrong on July 1, announced the deal Thursday.
McMichael joined the team as part of the return from the Washington Capitals in the Jordan Kyrou trade last month. St. Louis also got a first-round pick and prospect Milton Gastrin.
Auto racing
Max Verstappen has left his future in Formula 1 open again ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix and praised his “really good” relationship with Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies.
Verstappen has yet to commit to staying with Red Bull for next year after he was linked to McLaren and suggested he’d consider leaving F1.
“I don’t want to go here, say yes, and no, and this and that about my future. I said already many times that if there was something new I would say it myself,” the four-time world champion said Thursday.
Olympic sports
Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault’s only previous experience with USA Basketball was a couple of stints as a video coordinator for younger-division teams more than a decade ago. And Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff has never been part of the national program.
That’s all about to change. They’re in line for trips to the Olympics.
Daigneault, Bickerstaff and Mark Few were formally named assistant coaches to serve on Miami coach Erik Spoelstra’s staff for the 2027 Basketball World Cup in Qatar and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, those nominations getting approved by USA Basketball’s Board of Directors on Thursday.
WNBA
New York’s game against the Dallas Wings was postponed Thursday after the Liberty had travel delays caused by mechanical issues on their charter flight, the league announced.
The game was originally scheduled to be played Thursday night in Dallas, but has been rescheduled for Monday.