Yankees Predicted to Re-Sign Top Reliever
Despite a rough end to a season that once was filled with promise for both the New York Yankees and Luke Weaver, it still makes plenty of sense for the two sides to come together and hammer out a new deal once the right-handed reliever hits free agency.
Yankees Insider Makes Prediction
NJ.com's Randy Miller believes that although Weaver ran into trouble in the postseason, he pitched well enough over parts of three seasons with the Yankees to warrant a new three-year deal from the club this offseason.
"Weaver’s first two postseason outings this year were atrocious, five runs over no innings, but he’s been the biggest bargain reliever in baseball for two years," Miller wrote. "He showed that he can be a reliable closer late into ’24 and again for a stretch this season. His year can be split up into two parts, before and after his hamstring strain. He had a 1.05 ERA in 24 outings prior to being shelved June 3, then a 5.31 ERA in 40 games after his June 20 return. Weaver wasn’t right in the second half, and he was tipping pitches in the playoffs, but he’s proved over a long enough sample size that he can pitch in New York.
Weaver's 2025 Season
The 31-year-old was well-positioned to make the first All-Star team of his career this season with a 1.05 ERA over 25 2/3 innings until he suffered a hamstring strain that resulted in a trip to the injured list in early June.
Weaver was activated from the IL later that month, but he recorded a 5.31 ERA across 40 outings and 39 frames in the regular season after making his return.
During the playoffs, Weaver gave up five earned runs over three appearances and just 1/3 of an inning.
Reunion Makes Sense
Despite his numbers declining significantly as the year went along, bringing back Weaver is a perfectly sensible move for the Yankees. The 32-year-old was incredible during the club's World Series run in 2024, pitching to a 1.76 ERA over 15 1/3 playoff frames, and he logged a 3.22 ERA in 129 games totaling 162 innings over parts of three regular seasons with them.
Spotrac currently projects Weaver to earn an average annual salary of $9.9 million over two years on the open market, which would make him the 11th highest-paid reliever in the league.
Bruins Benefitting From Another Hot Start By Elias Lindholm
The Boston Bruins are off a strong start to open the 2025-26 season. New head coach Marco Sturm has this team performing well and playing well within his system. They find themselves undefeated (3-0-0) and there are a few players to thank for those results. One player is off to a very familiar start: Elias Lindholm.
Elias Lindholm Off to Another Hot Start
Well, doesn’t this look familiar? For the second season in a row, Elias Lindholm is off to a hot start. Fans may have forgotten the start he did have, as Lindholm finished the 2024-25 season with just 47 points. In the first three games during the 2024-25 season, Lindholm scored two goals and has six points. It was a rocking start for the player coming into his first season in a big, newly signed contract.
It felt good to see, as he was likely delivering on the expectations set before him. After the strong three-game start, he went ice-cold, going pointless in seven straight games. That type of inconsistency lingered through the entire season, but there was a reason for it. Lindholm was battling through a back injury that nagged him throughout the entire campaign. He touched on that right before the new season started.
“The season wasn’t great,” Lindholm admitted. “I didn’t get off to a strong start, had problems with my back, and missed the entire camp. To be able to play from the beginning, I had to take an injection, and it took a few weeks before it helped. I couldn’t do anything for a month or two, so I felt behind and had to catch up. It wasn’t a great start, but I hope this coming season can be better.”
Needless to say, it’s been better, and he has been better. He’s off to another hot start and has factored into every single game to start the season.
Lindholm Bouncing Back Early
It’s a small sample, much like the season prior, but Lindholm is making his impact in the first three games and in all different phases of it. He’s been instrumental in the Bruins’ success offensively, and the top line of him, Morgan Geekie, and David Pastrnak has picked up where they left off. Let’s start with the production part of his game.
Lindholm may not have six points, but he does have four in three games and is more than a point-per-game player. He has scored two goals, and both came on the power play. The one great thing about these goals is that you’re seeing Lindholm go hard to the front of the net to get rewarded.
He took a great pass from Pastrnak and displayed a great dangle to get rewarded for the goal. In the second game against the Chicago Blackhawks, he crashed the net and punched home the rebound. Lindholm has shot out of a cannon to begin the season and looks like a rejuvenated player with a lot to prove. His impacts go beyond the scoresheet.
One thing that has stood out is his play inside the faceoff circle. He has taken 51 faceoffs and has won 36, good for a 70.6 faceoff winning percentage. To close out the games, he’s been put on the ice in those situations. He won a crucial faceoff in the game against the Washington Capitals that helped ice the game, as Geekie scored an empty-net goal. His zone starts are evenly distributed.
Overall, this is the type of production that you’d want to see and the type of impact he’s had on the Bruins.
Lindholm Starting Hot Again Is Huge
The Bruins getting a hot start out of Lindholm is huge. He’s started hot once again, but his on-ice impacts go beyond the scoresheet. What a start for the Bruins and for Lindholm.
