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10:40pm: Chicago is not sending any cash in the deal, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The Mets are picking up Robert’s $20MM salary and at least a $2MM buyout on next year’s $20MM club option. 10:19pm: The Mets and White Sox are in agreement on a trade sending outfielder Luis Robert Jr. to New York, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Rookie infielder Luisangel Acuña and minor league right-hander Truman Pauley are headed back to Chicago, Passan adds. This brings an end to what had been years of Robert trade rumors. The White Sox have held their center fielder through multiple rebuilding seasons. In retrospect, they surely wish they’d moved him over the 2023-24 offseason. Robert was coming off a career year and looked like a budding star entering the prime of his career. The past two seasons have been much more challenging, as he has battled injuries and generally struggled offensively while fielding plenty of questions about when he would eventually be traded. Robert was a high-profile prospect when he signed with the Sox out of Cuba in 2017. He commanded a hefty $26MM bonus, the kind of massive sum for an international amateur that would subsequently be prohibited in the collective bargaining agreement. Robert’s dominant minor league performance further spurred optimism, and the White Sox signed him to a $50MM extension over the 2019-20 offseason. At the time, it was the largest extension for a player who had to make his MLB debut, and it ensured he’d break camp in 2020 without any kind of service time games. While that year’s schedule would be shortened by the pandemic, Robert popped 11 homers and won a Gold Glove in center field. He placed second in Rookie of the Year balloting. Robert’s numbers jumped in year two, as he hit .338/.378/.567 across 296 plate appearances. A torn hip flexor tendon in his right hip cost him three months, however, and the blend of tantalizing talent and frustrating durability would be a recurring theme in his career. Robert had a trio of injured list stints, albeit all for minor issues, the following season. He stayed healthy for almost all of the ’23 campaign and showed the star-level ceiling he possesses at full strength. Robert drilled 38 homers, 36 doubles and one triple across 595 plate appearances. He hit .264/.315/.542 to win a Silver Slugger Award. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each valued his season around five wins above replacement after accounting for his excellent center field defense. The White Sox nevertheless went 61-101 and were outscored by 200 runs on the season. It was clear they were amidst a multi-year teardown, but they elected to hang onto Robert when they had four years of affordable contractual control. They could have netted multiple top prospects if they’d shopped him. Robert’s production has tanked as the team has slogged through two more terrible seasons. He’s a .223/.288/.372 hitter in 856 plate appearances since the start of 2024. He has struck out at a near-30% rate while continuing to battle injuries. The right hip flared up early in the ’24 season and kept him out for two months. A pair of left hamstring strains were the culprit last summer, with the latter costing him all of September. The physical tools remain encouraging. Robert is still one of the fastest players in the league despite the various lower body injuries. He ranks in the 92nd percentile among hitters in bat speed, according to Statcast. He’s an aggressive hitter who is always going to have his share of strikeouts. Teams would happily live with a lower on-base percentage if he’s making the kind of power and defensive impact he did in his best days in Chicago. It’s largely a change-of-scenery bet from the Mets’ perspective. Robert only turned 28 in August and hasn’t shown signs of physical decline. He has spent the past three seasons on one of the worst teams in MLB, fully aware that he’d be traded at some point. A new environment could help him get back on track, although the durability concerns will persist even if his numbers improve. Robert will at least upgrade the defense and bring some upside on the bases. He has stolen 20+ bags in three straight seasons and went 33-41 in stolen base attempts last year. He should also bring some juice against left-handed pitching, as he’s a career .293/.367/.505 hitter with the platoon advantage. His production against southpaws tanked in 2024 but rebounded last season. More to come. View the full article

The Cardinals are among the teams that have expressed interest in free agent outfielder Austin Hays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman has previously linked Hays to the Yankees, Mets and Royals this offseason. St. Louis president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said over the weekend that the team was open to adding a righty-hitting outfielder. Bloom’s comments came in response to a fan question about Harrison Bader, yet Hays seems more in line with the kind of player the Cardinals would target. Bader should be able to command a multi-year deal on a team that’d play him every day in center field, where St. Louis probably wants to continue giving Victor Scott II a chance to develop offensively. Hays is likely to sign for much more cheaply on a one-year deal. He’d be more of a rotational corner outfield piece, ideally used most often as a short side platoon bat. He’s a career .282/.340/.479 hitter in a little over 800 plate appearances versus lefty pitching. The 30-year-old owns a slightly below-average .253/.301/.416 line in 1816 trips to the plate against right-handers. Last year’s splits were even more extreme, as Hays had a .949 OPS against southpaws and a .708 mark without the platoon advantage. The Cardinals have the lefty-hitting Scott in center field and another left-handed bat, Lars Nootbaar, lined up to play left field. Nootbaar could be traded this offseason and seems more likely than not to move by the deadline. Alec Burleson is another left-handed hitter with ample corner outfield experience, but he’s expected to be the primary first baseman after the Willson Contreras trade. Righty-swinging Jordan Walker will probably get another chance in right field, but he has a minor league option remaining and hasn’t found any kind of sustained MLB success. Prospect Joshua Baez, another righty bat, and lefty-hitting depth options Nathan Church and Bryan Torres are also on the 40-man roster. Hays has played exclusively left field over the past couple seasons. The Cardinals are also among the teams looking at Miguel Andujar, who offers a similar skillset but will probably be a little more expensive coming off an excellent finish to the 2025 season with Cincinnati. View the full article

http://blogs.fangraphs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Carlos-Beltran-and-Andruw-Jones.pngRobert Deutsch-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images and Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images 2026 BBWAA Ballot Ballot IntroCarlos BeltránCrowdsource BallotChase UtleyFélix HernándezCole HamelsAndy PettitteMark BuehrleAndruw JonesManny Ramirez and Alex RodriguezDustin PedroiaDavid WrightBobby Abreu, Torii Hunter, and Jimmy RollinsRyan BraunAlex GordonOmar Vizquel and Francisco RodríguezEdwin EncarnaciónJay Jaffe's 2026 BallotHunter PenceShin-Soo ChooMatt KempRick PorcelloGio GonzalezHowie KendrickDaniel MurphyNick MarkakisCrowdsource ResultsBBWAA Results The following article is part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2026 Hall of Fame ballot. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot, and other candidates in the series, use the tool above; an introduction to JAWS can be found here. For a tentative schedule, see here. All WAR figures refer to the Baseball Reference version unless otherwise indicated. When it comes to center fielders and the Hall of Fame, BBWAA voters have been a particularly picky lot. It’s all too easy to say, “This guy was no Ty Cobb,” or “This guy was no Willie Mays.” Who can live up to standards like that? Until Tuesday, just nine center fielders had been elected by the writers, fewer than any other position, but when Josh Rawitch announced the results of the 2026 balloting, two more joined them: fourth-year candidate Carlos Beltrán and ninth-year candidate Andruw Jones. Beltrán, a five-tool player with 2,725 career hits, 312 stolen bases and the no. 9 ranking among center fielders in JAWS, received 84.2% of the vote, up from 70.3% last year. He had to overcome some initial resistance to his candidacy owing to his involvement in the Astros’ illegal sign-stealing scandal at the end of his career while helping the Astros win the 2017 World Series. Commissioner Rob Manfred’s 2020 report placed him at the center of Houston’s scheme, and it cost him his job as Mets skipper before he could manage a single game. Despite his transgression, he received 46.5% of the vote in his 2023 ballot debut, and followed with three straight years of double-digit gains. Jones, who hit 434 homers, won 10 Gold Gloves as the defensive centerpiece of the Braves’ playoff dynasty, and ranks 11th among center fielders in JAWS (and first in fielding runs), received 78.4% of the vote, up from 66.2% last year. Roughly speaking, it’s a coin toss as to whether candidates within 10 points of the magic 75% make up the distance in one year or two, and in his case, the coin came up heads. Which isn’t to say it was all smooth sailing. Jones was amazing in his 20s, but his career fell apart in his 30s. He played his last game in the majors at age 35 in 2012, with an arrest for battery against his then-wife, and his subsequent guilty plea to a lesser disorderly conduct charge, contributing to his disappearance from the majors and giving some voters pause. Setting that aside — and understandably, not every voter was willing to do so — Jones finished his career with just 1,933 hits. Until Tuesday, the writers hadn’t elected anyone with fewer than 2,000 hits since 1975, when Ralph Kiner (1,451 hits in a career delayed by World War II) got the nod. The writers had bypassed every candidate from the post-1960 era with fewer than 2,000 hits, though Era Committees have recently elected Dick Allen, Gil Hodges, and Tony Oliva. Additionally, Jones debuted on an especially crowded ballot in 2018, one from which 11 players have since been elected, nine by the writers; he received just 7.3% of the vote that year, so in crossing the 75% threshold, he set a record. More on that topic below. http://blogs.fangraphs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/recentjones26rev.png This is the first time since 2009 that two players at the same primary position (besides pitchers) were elected by the writers in the same year. That year, first-time candidate Rickey Henderson and 15th-year candidate Jim Rice were both elected. In more ways than one, they don’t make ’em like that anymore. Here’s a look at the writers’ history of electing center fielders: BBWAA-Elected Center Fielders Player Year YoB Pct Ty Cobb 1936 1 98.2%* Tris Speaker 1937 2 82.1% Joe DiMaggio 1955 4** 88.8% Mickey Mantle 1974 1 88.2% Willie Mays 1979 1 94.7% Duke Snider 1980 11 86.5% Kirby Puckett 2001 1 82.1% Andre Dawson 2010 9 77.9% Ken Griffey Jr. 2016 1 99.3%* Carlos Beltrán 2026 4 84.2% Andruw Jones 2026 9 78.4% Source: Baseball-Reference * = Set record for highest voting share. ** = Five-year waiting period introduced in 1954; DiMaggio was grandfathered into eligibility. Cobb headed the original 1936 class, outdoing even Babe Ruth (95.1%) but — audible sigh — his being left off four ballots helped to create the “tradition” of non-unanimity that stood until Mariano Rivera ran the table in 2019. For as ridiculous as it was that Mays was left off of 23 ballots (don’t get me started), his share was the highest since those of Cobb, Ruth, and Honus Wagner (95.1%) in 1936. What follows here are a few quick take-home points from the electoral results. I’ll have a candidate-by-candidate breakdown in my next installment. Giant Leaps… Toward Cooperstown? Chase Utley was the only other candidate to cross the 50% threshold, reaching 59.1% in just his third year on the ballot, strongly suggesting he’s got a future in Cooperstown. And as voters debated how to handle starting pitchers in an age of reduced workloads and increasingly remote milestones, Andy Pettitte (48.5% in his eighth year of eligibility) and Félix Hernández (46.1% in his second) both surged as well. Their shares suggest they’ll eventually be elected, whether by the writers or an Era Committee to be named later. What’s more, all three of those candidates landed on the leaderboard for the largest year-to-year jumps in voting share since the writers returned to annual balloting in 1967, with Hernández barely setting a record: Largest 1-Year Gains on BBWAA Ballot Since 1967 Rk Player Yr0 Pct0 Yr1 Pct1 Gain 1 Félix Hernández 2025 20.6% 2026 46.1% 25.56% 2 Luis Aparicio+ 1982 41.9% 1983 67.4% 25.45% 3 Barry Larkin+ 2011 62.1% 2012 86.4% 24.3% 4 Gil Hodges+ 1969 24.1% 1970 48.3% 24.2% 5 Nellie Fox+ 1975 21.0% 1976 44.8% 23.8% 6 Hal Newhouser+ 1974 20.0% 1975 42.8% 22.8% 7 Jim Rice+ 1999 29.4% 2000 51.5% 22.1% 8 Don Drysdale+ 1976 29.4% 1977 51.4% 22.1% 9 Larry Walker+ 2019 54.6% 2020 76.6% 22.0% 10 Vladimir Guerrero+ 2017 71.7% 2018 92.9% 21.2% 11 Andy Pettitte 2025 27.9% 2026 48.5% 20.6% 12 Larry Walker+ 2018 34.1% 2019 54.6% 20.5% 13 Todd Helton+ 2022 52.0% 2023 72.2% 20.2% 14 Johnny Sain 1974 14.0% 1975 34.0% 20.0% 15 Early Wynn+ 1970 46.7% 1971 66.7% 20.0% 16 Chase Utley 2025 39.8% 2026 59.8% 19.3% 17 Minnie Minoso+ 1985 1.8% 1986 20.9% 19.1% 18 Phil Cavarretta 1974 16.7% 1975 35.6% 18.9% 19 Early Wynn+ 1969 27.9% 1970 46.7% 18.8% 20 Yogi Berra+ 1971 67.2% 1972 85.6% 18.4% + = Hall of Famer That trio pushed a pair of back-to-back jumps by Scott Rolen out of the top 20. He went from 17.2% in 2019 to 35.3% in ’20 (a gain of 18.1%), and then to 52.9% in ’21 (a gain of 17.6%) — more than tripling his support in that span and turning him from a long shot into a likely honoree. With Beltrán, Jones, and Utley the only candidates to reach 50%, this was the first time so few did so since 2000, when second-year candidate Carlton Fisk, ninth-year candidate Tony Perez, and sixth-year candidate Jim Rice were the only ones to do so, with Fisk and Perez both elected. Biggest Comebacks, Re-Re-Revisited While he was part of the famous triumvirate of superstar center fielders from New York City baseball teams in the 1950s along with Mickey Mantle and Mays, Duke Snider didn’t get the respect he deserved upon landing on the BBWAA ballot in 1970, four years ahead of the former and seven ahead of the latter. He received just 17% of the vote, and as noted above, it took him until 1980, his 11th year on the ballot (of what was then a 15-year eligibility window) to surpass 75%. Until 2023, that stood as the biggest comeback of any BBWAA-elected candidate, but with Jones’ election, candidates have surpassed Snider’s low mark in each of the past four years. Again, Jones now has the record for the biggest comeback: Lowest First-Year Voting Percentages of BBWAA-Elected Players Player Year % Year Elected YoB Andruw Jones 2018 7.3% 2026 9 Scott Rolen 2018 10.2% 2023 6 Billy Wagner 2016 10.5% 2025 10 Todd Helton 2019 16.5% 2024 6 Duke Snider 1970 17.0% 1980 11 Bert Blyleven 1998 17.5% 2011 14 Larry Walker 2011 20.31% 2020 10 Mike Mussina 2014 20.32% 2019 6 Seven of those eight lowest first-year percentages are from the past 16 years, within the timespan that I’ve been covering Hall of Fame elections. Overcrowded ballots caused some of these candidates to slip through the cracks the first time around, but tools like JAWS and Ryan Thibodaux’s Tracker have helped cue voters that it’s worth taking another look… or nine. This Time, the First Time Isn’t the Charm As The Athletic’s Jayson Stark pointed out last week, in the last 12 cycles before this one (2014–25), BBWAA voters elected 18 first-year candidates, the most of any 12-year span in Hall history. The only cycles within that span that lacked one came in 2021, when the writers didn’t elect anybody, and ’23, when Rolen, a sixth-year candidate, was the only honoree. Now we have a third such instance within a six-year span. Usually when this happens, it’s a single holdover breaking through, but this time it’s a pair. Prior to Tuesday, the last time multiple holdovers were elected without a first-year candidate joining them was in 2011, when second-year candidate Roberto Alomar and 14th-year candidate Bert Blyleven made it. In the last 40 years, the only other times that’s happened were in 1987 (third-year candidate Catfish Hunter and sixth-year candidate Billy Williams) and 2000 (Fisk and Perez). Underlying this was the reality that this was a particularly weak class of first-year candidates from a Hall standpoint, with Cole Hamels and Ryan Braun the only ones with a JAWS above 33.0 — which is to say the only ones within 20 points of the standards at their respective positions. With Braun’s candidacy hamstrung by both his short career and two suspensions for violating the game’s drug policy (the first of which was overturned by an arbitrator), he received just 3.5%, knocking him off the ballot, leaving Hamels (23.8%) as the only second-year holdover for 2027. The last time such a thing happened was in 2012, when Bernie Williams was the only first-timer to make the cut, receiving just 9.6%. When the deluge of strong and controversial first-year candidates (Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens et al.) arrived the next year, Williams dropped to 3.3% and fell off the ballot. Hamels is at least in much better shape than that. The Electorate Grows, the Ballot Shrinks A total of 425 ballots were cast during this cycle, an increase of nearly 8% over last year and the first time since 2012 that at least 400 votes have been cast. Driven by an influx of MLB.com writers and editors (more on which below), this was the largest electorate since 2019 (also 425), though it fell far short of the high of 581 ballots, set in ’11. The Hall’s decision to sunset voters more than 10 years removed from active coverage decreased the size of the electorate from 549 voters in 2015 to 440 in ’16, and it’s been slowly dwindling since then, with industry trends — layoffs, closures, ill-considered pivots to video — contributing to the decline. This was a comparatively weak ballot in general, with just three candidates meeting the JAWS standard at their respective positions, the lowest total since 2006, and just six with a JAWS of 50.0 or higher (40.0 or higher for catchers), the lowest total since ’08. Given that landscape, the voters used just 5.77 slots per ballot, 1.0 fewer than last year, and the lowest average since 2012, but not far off from a couple of other recent cycles. This was the second time within that 15-cycle span that the number of blank ballots reached double digits: Recent BBWAA Ballot Trends Year Votes Votes Per Ballot All 10 Elected Blank 2012 573 5.10 N/A 1 9 2013 569 6.60 22% 0 5 2014 571 8.39 50% 3 1 2015 549 8.42 51% 4 1 2016 440 7.95 41.6% 2 N/A 2017 442 8.17 45.2% 3 2 2018 422 8.46 50.0% 4 1 2019 425 8.01 42.8% 4 0 2020 397 6.61 20.5% 2 N/A 2021 401 5.87 14.5% 0 14 2022 394 7.11 33.8% 1 6 2023 389 5.86 13.9% 1 8 2024 385 7.00 24.4% 3 0 2025 394 6.77 24.9% 3 0 2026 425 5.77 20.9% 2 11 Source: Baseball-Reference “All 10” and blank ballot figures via BBWAA. Yellow shading = modern record (since 1966). New Kids on the Bloc One of the key factors shaping the results this year was the influx of new voters. In 2015, the BBWAA voted to admit MLB.com writers and editors into the organization, and now, with 10 years under their belt, they’re eligible to vote. According to the folks at the Tracker, at the outset of this cycle, as many as 40 or even 50 new voters were expected to join the rolls, with about 25 of those coming from MLB.com. Those estimates may have been low, because as of 6 PM ET on Tuesday, 37 first-time voters had published their ballots, as many as there were in 2024 and ’25 combined. Perhaps even more interesting is how consistently those newcomers voted for the most favored candidates. All 37 included Beltrán, and all but three included Jones, helping to push them across the finish line. They gave Utley and Hernández more than 75% of their votes, and helped several other candidates set new highs as well: New Public Voters vs. The Field Player New (37) Others (388) Dif Félix Hernández 75.7% 43.3% +32.4% Cole Hamels 51.4% 21.1% +30.2% Bobby Abreu 56.8% 28.4% +28.4% Chase Utley 83.8% 56.7% +27.1% Andy Pettitte 70.3% 46.4% +23.9% Mark Buehrle 40.5% 18.0% +22.5% Carlos Beltrán 100.0% 82.7% +17.3% Andruw Jones 91.9% 77.1% +14.8% Dustin Pedroia 29.7% 19.8% +9.9% David Wright 21.6% 14.2% +7.4% Manny Ramírez 40.5% 38.7% +1.9% Álex Rodríguez 40.5% 39.9% +0.6% Gio González 0.0% 0.0% +0.0% Howie Kendrick 0.0% 0.0% +0.0% Daniel Murphy 0.0% 0.0% +0.0% Alex Gordon 0.0% 0.3% -0.3% Nick Markakis 0.0% 0.3% -0.3% Matt Kemp 0.0% 0.5% -0.5% Hunter Pence 0.0% 0.5% -0.5% Rick Porcello 0.0% 0.5% -0.5% Torii Hunter 8.1% 8.8% -0.7% Shin-Soo Choo 0.0% 0.8% -0.8% Francisco Rodríguez 10.8% 11.9% -1.0% Edwin Encarnación 0.0% 1.5% -1.5% Ryan Braun 0.0% 3.9% -3.9% Jimmy Rollins 13.5% 26.5% -13.0% Omar Vizquel 5.4% 19.6% -14.2% Source: tracker.fyi With the Tracker likely to add something on the order of another 100 ballots over the next couple of weeks, those percentages will shift and probably converge. But for now, wow! Everybody Gains As was the case in my year-to-year comparisons of our crowdsourced balloting, every returning candidate received a higher share from the voters in 2026 than in ’25 — even Hunter, the only candidate who lost ground from the writers (and our crowd) last year. Eleven candidates did receive less than 5% and are ineligible for further consideration by the BBWAA, none of whom were surprises; three were shut out. Ramirez has aged off the ballot after a 10-year run, unable to escape the impact of his two suspensions. Six holdovers posted double-digit gains: 2026 BBWAA Hall of Fame Voting Results Player YOB Votes 2026% 2025% Change Carlos Beltrán 4 358 84.2% 70.3% +13.9% Andruw Jones 9 333 78.4% 66.2% +12.2% Chase Utley 3 251 59.1% 39.8% +19.3% Andy Pettitte 8 206 48.5% 27.9% +20.6% Félix Hernández 2 196 46.1% 20.6% +25.5% Alex Rodriguez 5 170 40.0% 37.1% +2.9% Manny Ramirez* 10 165 38.8% 34.3% +4.5% Bobby Abreu 7 131 30.8% 19.5% +11.3% Jimmy Rollins 5 108 25.4% 18.0% +7.4% Cole Hamels 1 101 23.8% — — Dustin Pedroia 2 88 20.7% 11.9% +8.8% Mark Buehrle 6 85 20.0% 11.4% +8.6% Omar Vizquel 9 78 18.4% 17.8% +0.6% David Wright 3 63 14.8% 8.1% +6.7% Francisco Rodríguez 4 50 11.8% 10.2% +1.6% Torii Hunter 6 37 8.7% 5.1% +3.6% Ryan Braun* 1 15 3.5% — — Edwin Encarnación* 1 6 1.4% — — Shin-Soo Choo* 1 3 0.7% — — Matt Kemp* 1 2 0.5% — — Hunter Pence* 1 2 0.5% — — Rick Porcello* 1 2 0.5% — — Alex Gordon* 1 1 0.2% — — Nick Markakis* 1 1 0.2% — — Gio González* 1 0 0.0% — — Howie Kendrick* 1 0 0.0% — — Daniel Murphy* 1 0 0.0% — — Source: BBWAA.com * ineligible for future consideration on BBWAA ballots. I’ll have a look at what these results mean for each candidate in my next installment. Source View the full article

The Dodgers sent infielder Ryan Fitzgerald outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week when they finalized their one-year deal with Andy Ibáñez. The Dodgers still need to make a 40-man roster move once they announce the Kyle Tucker contract. Los Angeles will keep Fitzgerald around as non-roster depth. The lefty-hitting utilityman hadn’t cleared outright waivers before, nor does he have the three years of MLB service to elect free agency. This was probably the planned sequence for the Dodgers, who only claimed Fitzgerald from Minnesota a week earlier. Fitzgerald debuted last season as a 31-year-old rookie. He played in 24 games, hitting .196 but popping four homers and stealing a base. The Creighton product had a nice year with Minnesota’s top affiliate, batting .277/.367/.469 across 245 plate appearances. Fitzgerald has a more modest .245/.333/.440 batting line over five Triple-A seasons divided between the Boston, Kansas City and Twins’ systems. The Dodgers will presumably give Fitzgerald a look in big league camp as a non-roster invitee. He’s unlikely to win an Opening Day spot but will provide multi-positional depth in the upper minors. Fitzgerald can play anywhere on the dirt and has experience at all three outfield positions as well, though he has been a full-time infielder for the past two seasons. View the full article

The Rangers announced today that they have signed right-hander Josh Sborz to a minor league deal. The McNamara Baseball Group client also receives an invite to big league camp in spring training. Sborz, 32, returns to the team he has spent the past five years with. The highlight of that tenure was 2023. Sborz had an unimpressive 5.50 earned run average that season but the underlying marks were better. His 7.9% walk rate was a bit better than average and his 30.7% strikeout rate was very strong. A small 56% strand rate seemed to push some extra runs across, which is why his 3.75 FIP and 3.05 SIERA were much more optimistic. Things corrected in a big way in the postseason. Sborz gave the Rangers 12 innings over 10 appearances, only allowing one earned run while striking out 13, making him one of most impactful players in the club’s championship. Things have been a bit more rocky since then, however. Rotator cuff/shoulder issues hampered him throughout 2024 and he only pitched 16 1/3 innings that season. He underwent a debridement surgery in November of that year, a procedure that was expected to sideline him for the first two or three months of the 2025 campaign. His rehab from that surgery didn’t progress as quickly as hoped and he ended up missing the entire season. The Rangers could have retained Sborz for 2026 via arbitration. Players usually see their salary hold steady when they miss an entire season. As such, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Sborz for the same $1.1MM figure he made in 2025. Texas decided not to tender him a contract, sending him to free agency instead. For the club, there’s no harm in bringing Sborz back via a non-roster pact. They can bring him into camp and see if he can get some of his velocity back. That was an issue for him last year but he’s now further removed from the surgery. This is the second straight offseason wherein the Rangers have tried to build a competitive bullpen while working around budgetary issues. Last year, they gave one-year deals worth $5.5MM or less to Chris Martin, Hoby Milner, Luke Jackson, Jacob Webb and Shawn Armstrong. Most of those pitchers performed fairly well but they also became free agents, putting the Rangers back in a similar spot this winter. So far, they have reunited with Martin and also signed Jakob Junis, Alexis Díaz and Tyler Alexander. All of those deals have been worth $4MM or less. Those guys will be in the bullpen alongside incumbents like Robert Garcia and Cole Winn, with Rule 5 pick Carter Baumler in the mix. Sborz will try to force his way into the picture and back onto the Texas roster. Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images View the full article

(Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Stagecoach) Netflix is adding several big shows to its streaming catalog, including a hit Taylor Sheridan TV shows set to arrive on the platform. What Taylor Sheridan TV show is coming to Netflix? According to the streamer in a recent fourth-quarter letter to shareholders (via Deadline), Netflix is getting ready to add around 20 new Paramount shows to its platform this year. These include some big shows, including SEAL Team, the Sherlock-inspired procedural Watson, and Taylor Sheridan’s Mayor of Kingstown. The series, which recently got renewed for a fifth and final season, currently has released four seasons. The show stars Jeremy Renner as Michael “Mike” McLusky, the right-hand man for his older brother, Mitch, who takes over as “Mayor” of Kingstown, Michigan, with his family acting as a mediator of sorts between the various groups found in the town. Mayor of Kingstown is created and executive-produced by Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon, who previously collaborated on the Yellowstone series. Alongside Renner, the series also stars Dianne Wiest (Seasons 1-2), Hugh Dillon, Tobi Bamtefa, Taylor Handley, Emma Laird (Seasons 1-3), Derek Webster, Hamish Allan-Headley, Pha’rez Lass, and more. The series is executive produced by Sheridan, Dillon, Renner, Antoine Fuqua, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin, Bob Yari, Michael Friedman, Dave Erickson, Christoph Schrewe, Wendy Riss, Evan Perazzo, and Keith Cox, with Erickson set as the showrunner. “In season four, Mike’s control over Kingstown is threatened as new players compete to fill the power vacuum left in the Russians’ wake, compelling him to confront the resulting gang war and stop them from swallowing the town,” reads the logline for the show’s fourth season. “Meanwhile, with those he loves in more danger than ever before, Mike must contend with a headstrong new Warden to protect his own while grappling with demons from his past.” (Source: Deadline) The post Hit Taylor Sheridan TV Show Coming to Netflix appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

The Baseball Writers Association of America announced that Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones have been elected to the Hall of Fame. They’ll be inducted into Cooperstown alongside Jeff Kent, who was elected by the Era Committee, on July 26. Beltrán appeared on 84.2% of ballots, while Jones got to a 78.4% vote share. Beltrán gets the honor in his fourth year. The switch-hitting outfielder was the only player who fell between 70% and 75% on last year’s ballot. His positive trend lines made it a near lock that he’d surpass the 75% threshold this winter. The Royals drafted Beltrán, a native of Puerto Rico, in the second round in 1995. He reached the big leagues as a September call-up three years later and ranked as one of the sport’s top prospects going into his first full season in 1999. Scouting reports projected him as a potential five-tool center fielder, and Beltrán lived up to that billing immediately. He hit .293/.337/.454 with 22 homers and 27 stolen bases during his debut campaign. Beltrán was the runaway choice for American League Rookie of the Year, the first of many accolades he’d accrue over the next two decades. Injuries and a sophomore slump limited his playing time in 2000, but Beltrán reestablished himself as one of the sport’s best outfielders the following year. He’d hit above .300 in two of the next three seasons, earning his first top 10 MVP finish behind a .307/.389/.522 showing in 2003. The roster around Beltrán was not nearly as strong. A small-market Kansas City franchise was unlikely to re-sign him, making him a top trade chip as he entered his final season of club control. The Royals dealt Beltrán, a first-time All-Star, to the Astros midway through the ’04 season. He appeared on the National League roster — Houston was then an NL team — and finished 12th in MVP balloting despite spending the first three months in the American League. Beltrán hit .258/.368/.559 with 23 homers in 90 regular season games for Houston. His introduction to the postseason couldn’t have gone any better. Beltrán batted .435 with eight homers in 12 playoff games, helping Houston to within one game of a trip to the World Series. The Astros would go on to win the pennant one year later, but Beltrán had moved on in free agency by that point. He signed what was then a franchise-record deal with the Mets: seven years and $119MM. Beltrán’s first season in Queens was a bit of a disappointment, but he rebounded with arguably the best season of his career in 2006. He hit a career-best 41 home runs and drove in a personal-high 116 runs with a .275/.388/.594 slash line. Beltrán won his first Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards while finishing fourth in MVP voting. Baseball Reference credited him with eight wins above replacement, the best mark of his career. He remained a force into the playoffs, batting .278 with a .422 on-base percentage over 10 games. For the second time in three years, Beltrán’s team lost the seventh game of an NLCS battle with the Cardinals. The ’07 Mets famously melted down in September to squander the NL East title to the Phillies. They wouldn’t return to the playoffs during Beltrán’s tenure, yet there’s no doubt they got their money’s worth from the free agent investment. Beltrán played in 839 games while hitting .280/.369/.500 with 149 homers over six and a half seasons in a Mets uniform. The club also netted a top pitching prospect named Zack Wheeler when they traded the impending free agent to the Giants in 2011. He raked down the stretch with San Francisco, but they narrowly missed the postseason between their World Series wins in 2010 and ’12. Beltrán signed a two-year deal with the Cardinals the following year. He hit .282/.343/.493 over his time in St. Louis, but his impact again was brightest in the postseason. Beltrán was a stellar playoff performer in both years. Beltrán signed a three-year contract with the Yankees over the 2013-14 offseason. He remained an above-average hitter over his time in the Bronx, albeit without the defensive value he’d had for the majority of his career. He made it back to the playoffs in 2016 after being dealt to the Rangers at the deadline. Beltrán finished his career on a one-year contract to return to the Astros. The final season in Houston wound up leaving Beltrán with a complicated legacy. He was an integral part of the team’s sign-stealing operation that wasn’t publicly revealed until a few seasons thereafter. Beltrán wasn’t much of an on-field contributor at age 40, but he collected his first World Series ring when the Astros won their first title in franchise history. Beltrán’s role in the sign-stealing scandal became public over the 2019-20 offseason. He had just been hired by the Mets as manager a few months earlier. He stepped down and forfeited his salary once the operation became public. Beltrán has remained involved in the game in less prominent roles, working as a television analyst with the YES Network and spending the past few seasons as a special assistant in the Mets’ front office. He’s also in charge of building the roster for the Puerto Rican national team at the upcoming World Baseball Classic. The sign-stealing scandal probably delayed Beltrán’s entry to Cooperstown. His statistical résumé made him a very strong candidate to get in on the first ballot. He finished his playing days with a .279/.350/.486 batting line. He hit 435 home runs, stole 312 bases, and drove in nearly 1600. Baseball Reference valued his career at 70 WAR, which doesn’t even account for his playoff excellence. Jay Jaffe’s JAWS metric has him as a top 10 center fielder of all time. Whatever trepidation some voters may have had about honoring him within the first couple years on the ballot, the end result is that he’s headed to Cooperstown to cement his legacy as one of the best center fielders to play the game. That’s also the case for Jones, who ranks 11th among center fielders by the same JAWS calculation. He gets in on his ninth year on the ballot, one season after receiving 66% of the vote. A native of Curacao, Jones signed with the Braves as an international amateur and flew through the minor leagues. He was the #1 prospect in the game when he reached the majors in the second half of the 1996 season. Jones stepped seamlessly onto a loaded Atlanta roster that was midway through their run of dominance in the National League. They were coming off a championship and would head back to the Fall Classic in ’96. A 19-year-old Jones embraced the big stage, hitting .345 with a trio of home runs in October. That included a two-homer showing in Game 1 against the Yankees, and he remains the youngest player ever to hit a World Series home run. The Braves won the first game but wound up dropping the series in six. Jones played mostly right field during his first full season. He hit .231 with 18 homers in 153 games and finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year balloting. He really took off the following year, kicking off a decade-long run as the sport’s best defensive outfielder and a premier power threat. Jones hit 31 homers while batting .271/.321/.515 and earning his first Gold Glove in 1998. That was his first of seven 30-homer campaigns and, more remarkably, the start of a streak of 10 consecutive Gold Glove awards. He’d start all 162 games for the Braves in 1999, playing elite defense while batting .275/.365/.483 with 26 homers and 35 doubles. The Braves made it back to the World Series after losing the NLCS in the prior two seasons. They were again knocked off by the Yankees, this time in a sweep. Jones didn’t have great playoff numbers over that stretch but remained one of the league’s best players in the regular season. He hit 36 homers in a 2000 season which Baseball Reference valued at eight wins above replacement, a career high that ranked fourth in MLB among position players. Jones earned an eighth-place MVP finish in 2000 and very likely would have finished higher had today’s defensive metrics been around at the time. He reeled off another three 30-plus homer seasons after that, narrowly dropping below that cutoff with a 29-homer showing in 2004. He rebounded with his most impressive offensive performance in ’05, as he slugged an MLB-best 51 longballs and led the National League with 128 runs batted in. Jones won a Silver Slugger for the first and only time and finished as the MVP runner-up behind Albert Pujols. It was a narrow split, as Pujols received 18 first-place votes against Jones’ 13. (Third-place finisher Derrek Lee received the other one.) The righty hitter remained an impact run producer the following season, as he slugged 41 more home runs with a career-high 129 RBI. That was his last impact season, as his rate stats dropped in 2007. The Braves let him depart in free agency at season’s end, and he was essentially finished as an everyday player at age 31. Jones played parts of five more seasons between the Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox and Yankees. He didn’t record more than 64 hits in any of his final five campaigns. While it was a precipitous decline, Jones had one of the more impressive peaks in baseball history. He hit 368 home runs with a .263/.342/.497 batting line between his debut and the end of his age-30 season. Retroactive defensive metrics come with significant error bars, but FanGraphs estimates he was roughly 134 runs better than an average defender during that stretch. That’s 25 runs clear of the second-place finisher at any position (Adrian Beltré) and certainly aligns with both his impressive accolades and scouting evaluations that consider him among the best outfield defenders in MLB history. Jones is one of six outfielders to win 10 Gold Gloves. He’s alongside Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Al Kaline and Ichiro in that company and now, in Cooperstown. Jones finished his career as a .254/.337/.486 hitter. His 434 homers place him one behind Beltrán for sixth among center fielders and tied with Juan González for 49th regardless of position. He nevertheless had a lengthy stay on the ballot as some voters struggled with his lack of production after he left Atlanta. Others may have withheld a vote on moral grounds, as Jones pleaded guilty to domestic battery charges and paid a fine after his wife alleged that he put his hands around her neck in December 2012. That came after the end of Jones’ MLB career, though he subsequently played two seasons in Japan to finish his professional playing days. While Jones will certainly go into the Hall as a Brave, Beltrán had a nomadic enough career to consider a few options for his plaque. The Hall of Fame has final say but works with the player to choose which cap they’ll don. Beltrán tells Bob Nightengale of USA Today that while no decision has been finalized, he’s likely to go into Cooperstown as a Met. Looking further down the ballot, Chase Utley’s 59% vote share was the highest among the candidates who were not elected. That’s up 20 points relative to last winter. It puts Utley, who has been on the ballot for three years, on track for eventual enshrinement — with an outside chance that he gets in as soon as next year. No other candidate appeared on more than half the ballots. Of this year’s first-time candidates, only Cole Hamels (23.8%) received more than the 5% necessary to remain under consideration. All but one player who fell off the ballot was up for consideration for the first time. The lone exception is Manny Ramírez, who drops off after coming up short in his 10th year. Ramírez’s history of performance-enhancing drug use (including a failed test) made him a non-starter for many voters, and he appeared on fewer than 40% of ballots in his final year. His only path to enshrinement is via the Era Committees, and their decision last month on Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens makes it difficult to see a scenario where Ramírez ever gets in. Next year will be the final consideration for Omar Vizquel, who has no chance of jumping from 18% to induction. Buster Posey and Jon Lester headline a class of first-time candidates that’ll also include Ryan Zimmerman, Kyle Seager, Brett Gardner and Jake Arrieta. Posey seems likely to get serious consideration for first-ballot induction, while Lester should easily have enough support to get more than 5% and remain on the ballot for future seasons. Full voter breakdown courtesy of BBWAA. Respective images via USA Today Sports. View the full article

As AI makes scams more convincing and easier to scale, small businesses are losing money at alarming rates, with those losses increasingly showing up in what buyers pay. The post AI is wreaking havoc with scams, and it’s raising the bills for buyers appeared first on Digital Trends. View the full article

Photo Credit: Disney+ Disney has a number of projects in the works, and according to a new report, one of their upcoming ones is based on an iconic book series. What beloved book series is getting turned into a Disney+ movie? According to a new report from The DisInsider, the Flat Stanley series of children’s books will be getting the movie treatment. The report notes that Disney is working on an animated feature film based on the iconic series for Disney+, and that Mic Graves has been tapped to direct the project. Graves is best known for his work as the co-creator of Cartoon Network’s Elliott from Earth, as well as directing various episodes of the hit series The Amazing World of Gumball. The report notes that the movie is also in the process of casting, and looking for lead roles. “Male, age 14 to play 14, a good-natured teen starting his freshman year in high school, where he’s desperately trying to distinguish himself from his overachieving brother, Arthur, who graduated from that same school the year before; energetic and impulsive he often acts without forethought, responding to a sudden urge or intuition, which can and does lead to regrettable consequences,” reads a description of the role. The Flat Stanley book series began in 1964, and was written by author Jeff Brown, with illustrations by Tomi Ungerer in its initial run, and then other artists later. The series follows the adventures of Stanley Lambchop, who is squashed flat by a bulletin board while sleeping, and soon goes on adventures as a newly flat person. The book famously inspired The Flat Stanley Project, a project that began in 1995 and aimed to facilitate letter-writing between schoolchildren. The idea behind the project involved children taking their own Flat Stanley’s to various places, photographing them, and then showing them off to other schoolchildren across the world. (Source: The DisInsider) The post Disney+ Movie Based on Beloved Book Series Reportedly Set appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

Left-hander Rich Hill doesn’t want to use the word but it seems to be leaning towards retirement. Appearing on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast, Hill was asked by host Rob Bradford if he was retiring and said “I don’t have any plans on playing next year.” The situation is somewhat analogous to that of Joe Kelly, who announced on the same podcast last month that he didn’t want to use the word “retire” but wasn’t planning on playing anymore. “I’m looking for open possibilities to stay in the game of baseball and be a contributory factor,” Hill continued. “I enjoy the work aspect of whatever it might be that’s next. I think that’s one thing that… why athletes get hired in other positions and other… outside of sports is because they are highly-driven people that want to succeed. And that’s something that I’m looking forward to.” It’s not shocking that Hill is slowly wafting into the next stage of his career. Though he did pitch in the 2025 season, he was easily the oldest player in the league. He was 45 years old when he suited up for the Royals and will turn 46 in March. Though he has continued pitching to an age when most other players have called it quits long ago, he did so with some unconventional approaches. He waited until midseason to sign in 2024 in a deliberate attempt to be more fresh for a stretch run. If this is indeed the end, it will wrap up one of the more unique arcs of a player in recent history. Hill was drafted by the Cubs way back in 2002 and made his major league debut in 2005. He didn’t find immediate success but had a really good season in 2007, posting a 3.92 earned run average over 32 starts. But from there, he went into a really challenging period of his career. He struggled with results and health for many years, leading him to be bounced between the majors and minors and between various different organizations. From 2008 to 2014, he tossed a total of 153 innings split between the Cubs, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, the Angels and Yankees. He posted a 5.41 ERA over that stretch. 2015 would turn out to be an incredible comeback season. He started the year on a minor league deal with the Nationals. He opted out of that contract in June and signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. He made just two starts for that club but struck out 21 opponents in 11 innings. That was enough to get him back into affiliated baseball via a minor league deal with the Red Sox. Boston called him up in September and he made four starts as the season was winding down. In those, he logged 29 innings with a 1.55 ERA. He had a mammoth 34% strikeout rate, a tiny 4.7% walk rate and a strong 48.4% ground ball rate. That was a tiny sample size but the Athletics made a bet on it, signing Hill to a one-year, $6MM deal for 2016. That wager paid off handsomely, with Hill giving the A’s 14 starts with a 2.25 ERA. At that year’s deadline, he was traded to the Dodgers alongside Josh Reddick, with the A’s getting Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes, and Jharel Cotton in return. Hill gave the Dodgers six starts with an ERA of 1.83 and then three postseason starts with a 3.46 ERA. The Dodgers were happy enough with that showing to bring Hill back via a three-year, $48MM contract. That was a pretty staggering deal for a 37-year-old who was not too far removed from being in indy ball but it worked out well. He logged 327 innings over those three seasons with a 3.30 ERA, plus 37 postseason innings with a 2.43 ERA. After that deal ran its course, Hill went into his 40s and mercenary mode. He signed a series of one-year deal with the Twins, Rays, Red Sox and Pirates. In 2023, he seemed to wear down as the season went along, not surprising for a 43-year-old. His 4.76 ERA with Pittsburgh was still respectable but he collapsed after a deadline deal to the Padres, posting an 8.23 ERA after the swap. As mentioned, he then tried to think outside the box to continue as an effective big league pitcher. He planned to intentionally sign at midseason in 2024 in order to spend more time with his family and also save his bullets for the second half and postseason. He stayed unsigned until inking a minor league deal with the Red Sox in August. He did get called up but only for four relief appearances before being released. In 2025, he signed a minor league deal with the Royals in May. He got called up in July but was designated for assignment after just two starts. Given the unusual shape of his career and his willingness to buck conventions, it’s possible he’ll change his mind and find his way back to the mound. But if Hill doesn’t make it back to the majors, he will finish with 1,418 innings tossed over 388 games for 14 different clubs. In that time, he posted a 4.02 ERA but will likely be best remembered for the 2015-2021 run which saw him post a 3.15 ERA in his late 30s and early 40s. Baseball Reference pegs his career earnings over $75MM, most of that coming to Hill in his late-career surge. We at MLB Trade Rumors salute him on a fine career, which may or may not be done, and wish him the best on whatever is next. Photo courtesy of Peter Aiken, Imagn Images View the full article

The Orioles announced Tuesday that they’ve signed right-hander Hans Crouse to a minor league contract. Ty Daubert of Phillies Nation first reported the signing and added that Crouse will be a non-roster invitee in Orioles camp this spring. He’s represented by Wasserman. A second-round pick by the Rangers back in 2022, Crouse ranked among the sport’s top pitching prospects in the 2019-20 offseason. Texas included Crouse alongside Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy in a 2021 trade with the Phillies, netting then-top prospect Spencer Howard and fellow minor leaguers Kevin Gowdy and Josh Gessner. Crouse spent several seasons in the Phillies system and made a brief MLB debut with the ’21 Phillies but has spent the past two seasons in the Angels organization after landing there in ’24 as a minor league free agent. Crouse has pitched a total of 32 1/3 innings in the majors between Philadelphia and Anaheim. He’s posted a shiny 3.34 ERA in that time, but the rest of his numbers don’t support that small-sample earned run average. Crouse has an impressive 25.9% strikeout rate but has also walked a gruesome 17.3% of the 139 batters he’s faced in the majors (in addition to plunking a pair). He’s navigated that glut of free passes not by erasing them with double plays — Crouse has just a 22.7% grounder rate in the majors — but thanks to good fortune on balls in play (.192 BABIP). In 69 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, Crouse has an ERA close to 6.00, though that number is skewed by a 2022 season in which he served up 18 earned runs in only 12 1/3 innings. That minimal innings total in Triple-A comes despite pitching parts of five seasons there. He’s been hampered by injuries throughout his career. Crouse has undergone surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow, required thoracic outlet surgery in 2023 and also missed most of the 2022 season due to a torn tendon in his right biceps. Earlier in his career, Crouse showed a power heater that climbed to the upper 90s and helped him miss bats in droves. He’s fanned 33% of his opponents in Triple-A and 28% of his overall opponents in pro ball. More recently, following all those injury troubles, his velocity has been pedestrian. He sat 93.3 mph with his heater in his most recent full season of Triple-A ball in 2024, and sat 95.3 mph in his lone Triple-A frame last season. There’s little harm in bringing Crouse aboard on a non-guaranteed deal, but his days a starter are surely behind him. At this point he’s a no-risk bullpen flyer with a big track record of missing bats but an even bigger injury history. View the full article

The Rangers announced that right-hander Dom Hamel has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for right-hander Jakob Junis, whose one-year deal with Texas is now official. Hamel, 27 in March, has never pitched for the Rangers. He was just claimed off waivers from the Mets in late September, during the final weekend of the regular season. He stuck on the roster for a few months but has now been squeezed off. His major league track record is one of the smallest possible. He tossed one scoreless inning for the Mets on September 17th. He was then designated for assignment and claimed by the Orioles. Baltimore put him back on waivers a few days later, which is when the Rangers claimed him. Hamel came up as a starting pitcher in the Mets’ system but struggled with control. He was primarily used as a multi-inning reliever in 2025 with some encouraging results. He tossed 67 2/3 Triple-A innings over 31 appearances. 11 of those were technically starts but were mostly of the opener variety. His 5.32 earned run average wasn’t especially impressive but his 25.2% strikeout rate was above average. Perhaps more importantly, given his past issues with control, he only walked 7.4% of batters faced. He did allow 12 home runs in that time, which helped push more runs across the board. Despite those issues with the long ball, he generated enough interest to be claimed off waivers twice late last season. The Rangers will now have a week to determine his next steps. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they could field trade interest over the next five days. Hamel still has a couple of options remaining, which could help him land elsewhere as a depth piece. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Rangers as non-roster depth since he does not have a previous career outright nor three years of big league service time. Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images View the full article

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to One Battle After Another production designer Florencia Martin about the Paul Thomas Anderson movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Martin discussed how they designed the movie to be as realistic as possible, the process of creating Sensei’s apartment, and more. “Washed-up stoner dad, Bob (DiCaprio), exists in a state of paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti),” the synopsis reads. “When his evil nemesis (Sean Penn) resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.” One Battle After Another is now available to purchase on 4K UHD. It is also currently streaming on HBO Max. Brandon Schreur: I want to start just by asking how you reacted to this project when it all came about. Paul Thomas Anderson is Paul Thomas Anderson, we all love him. But when you first got the script for One Battle After Another and you started working on this film, what excited you the most when it comes to tackling the production design? What made you want to be a part of this movie? Florencia Martin: That’s such a great question, I love it. What’s incredible is the fact that I’ve worked with Paul on Licorice Pizza and some music videos. And we knew we wanted to film on location. I think the best thing I could say is that it was like stepping into the unknown. That is such an incredible act of trust and collaboration. You read the script, and it goes all over the place. You have structure — it’s an incredible script, and you know that Bob is going to go on this journey. But what’s amazing is that Paul was receptive to collaborating with the locations and the people that we met along the way…Building these characters in live-time. So, for me, it has to be one of the most fulfilling and joyous ways that I’ve ever worked. First of all, we had a long amount of prep. We had, like, two years to prep the film and scout. And the fact that we traveled through the vast majority of California by car, train, and plane. We went to real people’s houses and businesses and learned. Every single part of this story — from ham radios and hemp growing, to what it’s like to live in the Redwoods. For me, personally, just talking about design, [we’d then] infuse that into these characters and the environments that they live in that we were building from the ground up. We were trying to make them look seamless. Something that was so great was the fact that we really wanted it not echo that we had a design theory. The design theory was to be raw and honest with what we were receiving and putting that back into the film. It’s all about creating a character, so, to go back to your question, what was really satisfying was that it was true process work. Just to take Eureka — going to the Redwoods, seeing what it was like to be isolated, meeting these people that lived this way who created outhouses out of their Redwood stumps, and who have collections of rocks and stained-glass windows. Traveling and seeing how people live in the desert, or going to real dojos, and then getting to recreate that from the ground up, and bringing things from Eureka, from a dojo up there — Sensei’s logo with the tiger. That was our process. It was really from the ground up, starting with story and character, and then collecting, collecting, collecting. Totally. And it’s all so effective; I just think it turned out so great. There are so many specific moments that are especially effective in this movie. One that I really want to ask you about is Sensei’s apartment, because I absolutely love that sequence. I was rewatching the movie earlier this week, and the line that really jumped out to me this time is when Benicio is walking around, and he’s like, ‘I’ll be in 24!’ Which implies all these other doors and rooms have these other things going on. There’s so much happening. Can you tell me what it was like bringing that whole thing to life? It looked so elaborate with the production design, since there’s so much going on. How did you go about tackling all of that? It was, like, the absolute greatest…The vision that Sensei lives in this communal way, with his family. They busted through the walls and were living in this chain of apartments. Production design brain is like, ‘Okay, that’s a build.’ We have to manipulate a space like that. The first interior space that we walked into in El Paso was Perfumeria Genesis. And it was so magnificent; that was a space where were like, ‘Don’t touch a thing.’ Everything was perfect, including the people who got cast into that scene by Paul and Benicio. Because we took Benicio through a walk-through, and he started to build out his character. He was like, ‘You’re going to come over here and work the cash register! You guys, close up the shop!’ He just started running business in there. It was marvelous to see. We were very fortunate that we were working with a local scout and architect who helped us transform the second floor of those buildings. The fact that we were able to actually build this huge hallway that led to these interconnected apartments, which were based on immigrant apartments that we had seen in El Segundo Barrio. It was just amazing — like one was the grandma’s space, one was the bachelor. Every apartment was identical, but each interior was completely its own creation. So, okay, that’s something great. The hallway was based on a hotel we once had. So, it was about magpieing and grabbing the best of what you see that tells a story. Also, the best fun for me was stitching that all together to create that labyrinth for them. You go up the actual stairs of the perfume shop to their second floor, where we created the sanctuary space for all the immigrants that they’re helping. We did that in collaboration with the local church that did that — they allowed us to use all those materials and the artwork that the children had created for that space. That, for me, was really special work to be able to collaborate that way. But you go through that door to the business next door, which had a trap door that led to their bag store. Then we created the hallway to line up with that trap door. Then the door in the back led through a water closet to the flower shop, which was a block away. Then Bob goes through the flower shop and up onto the rooftops. We scouted over 30 — I think we scouted every rooftop in El Paso. At the same time, all the civil unrest is happening, and then it ends with a very unceremonious splat from Bob. Or, double splat — the tree and then the taser. It was just an incredible sequence to be able to build. Thanks to Florencia Martin for taking the time to discuss One Battle After Another. The post How One Battle After Another’s Production Design Team Created Sensei’s Apartment | Interview appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

Though narrative film can transport us to imagined worlds, documentary cinema often turns the camera back on our own. From incisive personal profiles to true crime investigations and examinations of contemporary political life, HBO has no shortage of fantastic documentaries. You could spend a lot of time scrolling through the options, so we made a list of our favorites. Here are some of the best documentaries on HBO Max. What are the best documentaries on HBO Max? HBO has an expansive catalogue and a steady output of new releases each year, thanks to dedicating a portion of its budget to its documentary division. We can expect the streaming giant to release more documentary titles each year, which alone makes the subscription price worth it. Though we’ve listed our favorite titles below, we also wanted to give a few honorable mentions to The Jinx: The Life and Death of Robert Durst (2022), American Utopia (2020), All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022), Country Doctor (2025), Crazy, Not Insane (2020), Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024), and Amazing Grace (2018). Critical Incident: Death at the Border (2025) One of HBO’s most recent documentary releases, Critical Incident: Death at the Border, takes viewers inside the investigation of a fatal encounter at the U.S.–Mexico border. The film recounts the death of 42-year-old Anastasio Hernández Rojas, an undocumented immigrant who was handcuffed, beaten, and repeatedly tasered during a deportation dispute. Hernández-Rojas died shortly thereafter in custody. While the U.S. government paid Hernández’s family a $1 million settlement, it declined to file criminal charges, even after the coroner ruled the death a homicide. Through archival footage, interviews with witnesses, officials, and family members, and a careful reconstruction of events, the documentary interrogates the institutional practices that shape contemporary border policy. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (2020) If you’re a true crime fan, this investigative documentary follows Michelle McNamara’s quest to track down the Golden State Killer. While the Golden State Killer, a moniker McNamara herself coined, remained elusive for decades after sexually assaulting more than 50 people and murdering ten, it was the work of true crime fan forums and McNamara’s own unrelenting obsession with solving the case that ultimately led to the identification of Joseph James DeAngelo. Alongside the search for the killer, however, the series offers an intimate portrait of McNamara, who passed away in 2016, as a mother, investigator, author, and person. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015) Based on Lawrence Wright’s investigative book, Going Clear examines the Church of Scientology as both a belief system and an organization. Documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney primarily uses testimony from former members, who explain how they got involved with the church and what ultimately led them to leave. The film also draws on historical records and contextual analysis of American religious culture to explore the church’s methods of control. Going Clear provides viewers with a history of the church and how it grew into a powerful authority. Where did this religion come from, and how did it attract big names like John Travolta, Tom Cruise, and Elisabeth Moss? Beyond examining the church’s structural workings, Gibney opens the film as a very personal confessional, giving former members space to share their stories in their own voices. Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (2023) This documentary offers a striking look at a cult that operates on a very different level than what we typically associate with cults. Following the 2016 election, documentary filmmaker Hannah Olson was interested in the rise of conspiratorial thinking. She was introduced to the Love Has Won movement and the group’s leader, Amy Carlson. In particular, Olson was interested in Carlon’s journey from fast food chain store manager to the leader of a religious organization, which soon earned the nomination by scholars and survivors of a “cult.” Aside from the subject matter already being intriguing, what makes the film especially compelling is its approach. Rather than relying solely on testimony from former members, it includes interviews with people who remain deeply committed to the group’s beliefs. As a result, the documentary places their worldview and psychology directly on display. Hoop Dreams (1994) For something a little more lighthearted, Hoop Dreams is a fantastic 1994 documentary directed by Steve James that follows Arthur Agee and William Gates, two African American teenagers with big dreams. The film takes us back to 1987, when Agee and Gates are recruited by a scout to attend St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois. Each travels roughly 90 minutes each way to a predominantly white school in the Chicago suburbs, known for its elite basketball program. Alongside the two teens, the film follows their families through heartbreak and triumph as Agee and Gates come to the brink of fame. Even years later, Hoop Dreams remains one of the greatest sports documentaries. The film is inspiring, heartbreaking, and deeply honest. It received the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered in 1994. Beyond being a great sports documentary, Hoop Dreams is also a compelling examination of race, education, and class in America. Thoughts & Prayers (2025) Thoughts & Prayers takes us inside schools during active shooter training, where children learn how to disarm a shooter, teachers play video simulations, and industry representatives pitch life-saving products — from inflatable body armor and bullet-resistant desks and backpacks to a robot dog that alerts when an intruder enters — all items that are part of a multi-billion dollar industry that started in response to the rise in mass shootings. This polarizing documentary that captures the landscape of gun violence in America gets a conversation going, though the overall response is mixed. The documentary has received outstanding reviews, but audience response suggests that it doesn’t go far enough in its commentary. To that we’d say: fair enough. The film certainly doesn’t cast judgment in black and white, but it doesn’t have to. It’s so plainly evident, even in its detachment. Whatever the opinion of how well executed the documentary is, it’s still easily one of the best documentaries on the subject. How we picked the best documentaries on HBO Max There’s no shortage of fantastic documentaries on HBO Max; these are the ones that are must-watches, or are incredibly relevant to today. We also considered the critical and audience reception to the films in our picks. The post Best Documentaries on HBO Max appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

If you’re looking for crime movies, HBO Max is a great place to find them. They’ve got pretty much every top crime pick you can think of, plus plenty of others across the genre. There’s a lot to choose from, so we narrowed down our favorites just to give you an idea of what’s streaming now. Here are the best crime movies on HBO Max. What are the best crime movies on HBO Max? Though we’ll say the platform really is king when it comes to crime documentaries, they’ve got plenty of narrative features as well. We might argue Netflix has the leg up in terms of crime movies, but there’s still plenty to make your subscription worth it. These are just a few of our favorites to save you the time of browsing the entire catalogue. A Most Violent Year (2014) 1981, New York City. That setting alone should give you a clear picture of the world this film inhabits. But to get into the plot: Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac star in this crime drama written and directed by J.C. Chandor. Isaac plays Abel Morales, a heating oil company owner (a 1980s Michael Corleone, if you will) whose trucks are being hijacked. One driver is seriously injured, and Abel’s wife, Anna (Chastain), begs him to retaliate. Abel refuses. He’s not a guy who believes in violence. Still, there’s a lot to make up for if he wants to keep the business afloat, and Abel resorts to some tricky maneuvers. With all that maneuvering, though, violence eventually comes to Abel’s doorstep, whether he likes it or not. Blood Simple (1984) The Coen brothers’ first feature, Blood Simple, is set in the heart of Texas. A Texas bar owner hires private detective Visser to kill his wife, Abby (Frances McDormand), who’s having an affair with Ray. But Visser’s sleaziness is more than just a facade, and things become increasingly convoluted as the film progresses, including tense standoffs between all four players. The film itself is a labyrinth, and the title alone gives you a pretty good indication that this one has some violence. You can tell the Coen brothers were trying to make an impression with their debut, and they absolutely did. Bronson (2008) This one isn’t so much about a crime as it is a character study of a criminal. Tom Hardy is at his best here in a seriously underrated film about prisoner Michael Peterson, who was convicted of theft. Well, that’s not entirely true, because the robberies involved hostages. All you really need to know is that this guy is genuinely terrifying, and he’s serving time in the English penal system, which is a tough place to be. While in prison, he can’t seem to stay out of trouble, and the only way to avoid conflict is solitary confinement. What really makes the film stand out, though, isn’t just the character drama but the way the story is told. Prepare for the shock and awe at what Tom Hardy can really do. John Wick (2014) Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick, a retired assassin who comes out of retirement after being brutally attacked by a couple of thugs. But it’s not just the assault that sparks his need for revenge. The thugs kill the puppy that belonged to John’s wife, who recently passed away. That would be enough for most of us, but John Wick is far more equipped than the average person. Meanwhile, John’s former colleague puts a bounty on his head. End of Watch (2012) Shot in a documentary style, End of Watch stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as two LAPD officers who are also close friends. The pair typically patrols one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Los Angeles, but life takes them out of routine when a traffic stop throws them into the world of one of the most dangerous cartels. Their involvement is definitely above their pay grade, but it certainly raises the stakes in this heavy-action drama. While the plot and docu-style might sound like it could be one big eye roll, it’s a solid film. The director is always one step ahead of us, and it stands as one of David Ayer’s best. Fargo (1996) For the Coen brothers’ second appearance here, Fargo is one of those movies that appear on just about every must-watch list. Set in Minnesota in 1987, Jerry (William H. Macy) is a businessman with big dreams and even bigger debts. He hires two thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife for ransom. His wealthy father-in-law will pay, and the thugs will take a cut as commission. Not a bad plan, right? Good Time (2017) The Safdie brothers have a way of directing movies that makes it feel impossible to breathe, keeping the audience teetering on the edge of an anxiety attack the entire time. It’s a brilliant trick that takes real technique to pull off. Good Time stars Robert Pattinson as a small-time criminal who will do anything to free his intellectually disabled brother from police custody after a robbery goes wrong. Uncut Gems (2019) Another entry in the Safdie canon, Uncut Gems stars Adam Sandler in a role that should have easily earned him an Oscar nomination. The snub remains baffling. In what is easily a career-defining performance, Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a Jewish-American jeweler and gambling addict. To say his gambling gets him into trouble is an understatement, as he owes an enormous sum of money to his brother-in-law, a loan shark named Arno. As you probably know, trying to pay off debt by gambling even more rarely ends well. Add Kevin Garnett, The Weeknd, and a 600-carat black opal from Ethiopia’s Welo mine into the mix, and you’ll only know what you’ve got when you see it. How we picked the best crime movies on HBO Max Aside from this writer’s heavy personal bias, we narrowed down our favorites to films that received the strongest audience and critic feedback. If you’re looking for even more crime movies and have a Netflix login, check out our picks for the best crime movies on Netflix. The post Best Crime Movies on HBO Max (January 2026) appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

Photo Credit: Netflix A new star-filled Netflix movie has everybody talking. So far, in 2026, Netflix has put out a number of new titles. The People We Meet on Vacation rom-com movie starring Emily Bader and Tom Blyth has proved to be a hit, for example, while the TV show His & Hers with Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal has also found an audience. There’s one title, however, that was just recently added to the streaming platform that has quickly proven to be Netflix’s biggest hit since Happy Gilmore 2. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Adam Sandler comedy sequel received 46.7 million views worldwide following its first weekend. What star-filled movie has become a huge hit for Netflix? As announced in a press release, The Rip received 41.6 million views last week. The movie was released on Netflix on January 16, 2026. “In this dirty-cop thriller, suspicion falls on everyone as Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Matt Damon) and Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne (Ben Affleck) lead a Tactical Narcotics Team following up on a tip about a cartel stash house,” a description of the film reads. “The rip — a term for when cops seize criminal assets — is $20 million, and every dollar must be counted before they can leave the house, allowing time for mistrust to grow within the team.” In addition to Damon and Affleck, the cast of The Rip includes Steven Yeun as Detective Mike Ro, Teyana Taylor as Detective Numa Baptiste, Catalina Sandino Moreno as Detective Lolo Salazar, Sasha Calle as Desi, Scott Adkins as FBI Agent Del Byrne, and Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Matty Nix. The movie is directed by Joe Carnahan, whose previous filmography includes 2006’s Smokin’ Aces, 2010’s The A-Team, 2011’s The Grey, 2014’s Stretch, 2020’s Boss Level, 2021’s Copshop, and more. The Rip is now available to stream on Netflix. The post Star-Filled Netflix Movie Is Streamer’s Biggest Hit Since Happy Gilmore 2 appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

If you’re a horror fan looking for more ways to get those spine shivers we all love, HBO Max has you covered. There’s plenty to choose from on the streaming platform, from supernatural horror to gothic horror to body horror to social horror. Here are some of the best horror movies on HBO Max. What are the best horror movies on HBO Max? We have to hand it to the streaming giant for the options available. You can just as easily find a great modern horror film as you can a classic from the 1920s. These are just a few of our favorites, though there are plenty we haven’t listed here that are also worth a watch. Others we have to give a shout-out to include Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992), Weapons (2025), Carnival of Souls (1962), Bring Her Back (2025), and Heretic (2024). Sinners (2025) Sinners was the unexpected blockbuster hit of last year. This one became something of a cultural phenomenon, at least for a moment. But if you haven’t had enough of it, you can stream it on HBO Max. And in case you somehow missed it, now’s your chance to check it out. The film follows twin brothers with a somewhat troubled past who return from Chicago to Mississippi. While there are, of course, the dangers of the Jim Crow South, no one expected a different kind of evil, drawn by the power of the musical gifts of their younger cousin, Sammie. Companion (2025) This twisty thriller from Zach Cregger (the mind behind Barbarian and Weapons) puts us in the shoes of AI. A woman named Iris (Sophie Thatcher) discovers that she’s a robot programmed to fulfill every desire of her boyfriend (Jack Quaid). But if you think you know what this movie is about to do, you don’t. Cregger, after all, loves an act of subversion. Get Out (2017) Jordan Peele gave us one of the best horror movies in recent years with Get Out. This genuinely unsettling, clever social thriller stars Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, who is headed to his girlfriend’s parents’ house for the weekend. When he arrives, he notices the family’s behavior is a little strange, but chalks it up to their anxieties over their daughter’s interracial relationship, even if Rose’s dad insists they voted for Obama. Twice. Of course, the little red flags start telling Chris to run, but by the time he realizes, it’s too late. Kwaidan (1964) If you’re looking for something a bit off the beaten path, this is a great choice. This three-hour anthology film, whose name comes from the Japanese word for “ghost story,” tells four different tales adapted from Lafcadio Hearn’s 1904 collection of folk stories. This film is absolutely stunning and deserves to be seen. If you’d like a little more info about this. Roger Ebert’s review is worth a read. Misery (1990) This is one of Rob Reiner’s classics in Stephen King’s universe, starring Kathy Bates in one of her most famous roles. After a serious car crash, novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) finds himself in the care of a nurse named Annie Wilkes. Annie happens to be Paul’s fan. A superfan, actually. As she helps Paul recover, she reveals she’s not too thrilled with the direction his books are going. Pretty soon, Paul realizes that Annie has no intention of letting him leave. I Saw the TV Glow (2024) We’re not sure why more people haven’t been talking about this film. It’s fantastic, and easily one of the best horror movies on HBO Max. It leans more arthouse than some of our other picks — which can be expected as an A24 film — but if you’re looking for a smart horror film, this should be at the top of your list. Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, this psychological horror follows teenager Owen (Ian Foreman), who is supposed to be at a best friend’s sleepover but instead takes a trip to visit classmate Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine). Along with Maddy’s friend, the three watch a teen TV show, The Pink Opaque. But that’s really just the setup for what this show will do. The Witch (2015) The debut feature film that put Robert Eggers on the map, The Witch is a quiet folk-horror film set in 17th-century New England. After a family is cast out of their Puritan village following a heated religious argument, they attempt to make a new life for themselves. Being cast from order, safety, and stability is enough to shake any family, though their bond and faith initially hold them together. Things begin to crack, however, when their infant son Samuel goes missing. The family blames Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), the eldest daughter, who was watching him at the time. Soon, there’s talk of witchcraft, as accusing eyes fall on Thomasin. The Conjuring (2013) This may be the most straightforward supernatural horror film on this list. It’s leaving Netflix this month, but you can watch it, along with all of the Conjuring movies if that’s your thing, on HBO Max. Based loosely on a true story, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren are professional paranormal investigators who have handled some of the biggest cases in their field, including the Annabelle doll. They soon find themselves in over their heads when they respond to a family who recently moved into a Rhode Island farmhouse and have been experiencing some truly terrifying things. The Substance (2024) Another brilliant film that felt like a bit of a cultural pop phenomenon, or at least it did from the number of times we heard Endor’s remix of Danzel’s “Pump It Up,” The Substance heads into satirical body horror territory. A famous aerobics instructor, Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), learns that she’s about to be fired. She’s just a little, well, old — according to producers and our society as a whole. (Dennis Quaid as the TV producer is fantastic here.) She finds a black-market drug called The Substance that promises youth and beauty, though it comes with very specific rules, including a mandatory switch between the old body and the new. The older Elisabeth Sparkle gives way to a beautiful, young woman named Sue. We’re not giving away exactly how that happens, but that’s definitely where some of the horror comes in. Of course, it gets harder and harder to switch back. How we picked the best horror movies on HBO Max We narrowed down our choices to give readers some of the best picks across horror genres. We also considered both audience and critical reception. The post Best Horror Movies on HBO Max (January 2026) appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to One Battle After Another editor Andy Jurgensen about the Paul Thomas Anderson movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Jurgensen discussed shooting the movie on VistaVision, editing the intense car chase sequence featured in the third act, and more. “Washed-up stoner dad, Bob (DiCaprio), exists in a state of paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti),” the synopsis reads. “When his evil nemesis (Sean Penn) resurfaces after 16 years, and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.” One Battle After Another is now available to purchase on 4K UHD. It is also currently streaming on HBO Max. Brandon Schreur: I’d love to ask you just a little bit about how you got involved with this project. You’ve obviously worked with Paul Thomas Anderson before on Licorice Pizza, but at what point did you get involved with One Battle After Another as an editor? What made you the most excited to get involved with this project? Andy Jurgensen: Well, I guess I probably read the script, I think, in like 2023. It’s something that has been percolating for a while — I didn’t really know about it, but it’s something that he’s kind of been trying to write for a while. I’ve now worked with him for 12 years. I started as an assistant editor on Inherent Vice, and I’ve worked on a bunch of stuff. He’s been really great in asking me to cut music videos and little documentaries for him. I was thrilled when he asked me to do Licorice Pizza. So, I just got lucky, and he asked me to do this one. I was involved when we started doing screen tests, both to test the VistaVision cameras — he always wanted to do this movie in VistaVision, and frame it so we could do IMAX. But we were also doing screen tests for Willa. I think there were like three different actresses that we auditioned with Leo. And I was starting to get involved, at that point. Obviously, Chase was great, and she ended up being perfect for the role. We were needing to figure out the workflow with how this was going to work with VistaVision. Paul is very much a fan of photochemical finishing, cutting negative, and the whole theatrical experience being on film. Because we were shooting VistaVision, we had to figure out how we were going to do that, because it hasn’t been done in 65 years. The labs and everything. That’s when I started getting involved. Then we started shooting in January two years ago — 2024, I guess. And I was traveling with them, in the production, with production. We were having daily screenings and watching footage. I was there, just starting to piece the movie together. Totally, that’s awesome. There are so many moments in One Battle After Another that I love. One of them is a bit obvious; we all love it, but it’s the whole car chase in the third act of the movie. I mean, it’s just so intense and so exciting to watch. And I do think a lot of that is because of the editing and the work you did on it, just because of the hills and how it cuts back and forth and all of that. Can you tell me a little about working on that moment? There are so many incredible things in here; how did you go about tackling it in the editing room? We had a lot of footage, I’ll say. What I started doing is piecing together the different perspectives — in front of each of the cars, and behind. And I kind of made string outs — rearview mirror shots — of everything that we had. We had an opportunity later in the schedule to go back to the location and pick up shots that we had missed. Or, I was telling someone earlier, you kind of can plan it, somewhat, but you kind of just have to see what you get. There are so many elements involved with the way the cars move up and down, the hills, which hills it is, and the lighting. You kind of just have to see what happy accidents occur, and then pull those bits out and say, ‘Okay, these are the little sections that we’re using.’ And then figure out what few things we still need. That kind of is what we were doing. It started out really long with the best bits, and then you start whittling it down. We sent it to the sound department kind of early, so that we could get a sense of how they could augment the sound for the different cars and the ups and downs. I could only do so much in Avid — they have their arsenal, and they have so much stuff. But, from there, I’m able to whittle it down, but still use their sound effects to get a better idea. Then we added Johny’s music, so there was that we were playing with as well. Johnny was sending additional stems, or layers, of the music with the up and down strings so that we could figure out where we were going to put those. It was an evolution that went through hundreds of versions, probably. We were trying anything — even at the final mix — to create these peaks and valleys. If it’s going just 100 miles per hour the whole time, it’s not going to be as effective. You have to have moments where the sound and the music goes down, and then you heighten it up again. That was the dance of the final sequence. And it just turned out so amazing. I’ll never forget sitting in the theater watching that for the first time and being like, ‘I am on a roller coaster, and this is wild.’ Well, thank you. Good. Mission accomplished. Another sequence in this movie that I’m dying to ask you about is everything that takes place in Sensei’s apartment. There’s so much happening during all of the scenes; I mean, there’s all the cuts of Leo and Benicio leaving the building, the soldiers coming in, and then everything that happens on the roof. It’s a long sequence, but it moves so quickly, and it’s so exciting. Was that a particularly challenging moment to cut together, as an editor? What was the process of working on that one like? Gosh, we just had such good footage there. That set — we kind of were able to take control of downtown El Paso. What was so great about that was that the downstairs, where the perfume shop is, is really connected to upstairs, where Sensei’s apartment is, and where all the stairs are. Sometimes it’s hard when you’re piecing together different locations because you have to be aware of, ‘Oh, that’s a fake wall’ or whatever it is. But the camera was able to move around so much in the set. So that was fun, you’re able to use the momentum and the energy of the actors and the camera to keep things moving. The challenge and the fun of that was figuring out the spots where we were going to cross-cut from the soldiers to them upstairs, rushing to get out, and gathering all the immigrants. It’s sort of a triangle of the different locations — how do we time it all out so that he goes down the hatch right as the soldiers are coming around the corner? You’re trying to move little pieces around to make it the most exciting climax as possible. It seems like they just miss each other, you know? And then, just the energy of the music. Even just the sounds that were captured on sets; all the running around, the doors. All of that stuff adds a really nice texture to the sequence. The cars, the skateboarders, and all of that stuff. It really helps the energy of the scene. Thanks to Andy Jurgensen for taking the time to discuss One Battle After Another. The post Why One Battle After Another’s Car Chase Is Full of ‘Happy Accidents’ | Interview appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

The Nationals announced that they have claimed utility player Mickey Gasper off waivers from the Twins. Minnesota designated him for assignment last week when they claimed Vidal Bruján, another utility player. The Nats designated right-hander Andry Lara for assignment in a corresponding move. Washington’s new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni is already familiar with Gasper. Toboni was an assistant general manager with the Red Sox when that club took Gasper from the Yankees in the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. Gasper made a brief debut with Boston in 2024 but was traded to the Twins last winter. Between the two clubs, he has a .133/.250/.195 line in 133 big league plate appearances. Toboni and the Nats are putting more stock in his minor league track record, where he has generally had a strong approach at the plate and has also provided defensive versatility. He took 588 Triple-A plate appearances over the past two years with 22 home runs, a 13.8% walk rate and 13.6% strikeout rate. He produced a combined line of .312/.420/.531 in that sample, production which translated to a wRC+ of 154. In terms of the glovework, Gasper has plenty of ability to move around. He has experience as a catcher, plus the three non-shortstop infield positions and has spent a bit of time in left field as well. He has even more versatility when considering he is a switch hitter who has options remaining. Despite the strong numbers, Gasper isn’t likely viewed as a core piece. He was originally a 27th round draft pick back in 2018 and took a while to get to the majors. Though he has a short résumé, he’s already 30 years old. But for the Nats, there’s a logic to bringing him aboard. Washington is rebuilding and has a roster in flux. They project to have CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr. on the infield but both are theoretical trade candidates, with Abrams controlled for three more seasons and García two. Brady House was once considered the third baseman of the future but he hit poorly in his first taste of the majors. Prospect Harry Ford could be the catcher of the future but he has just eight big league plate appearances. Amid all that uncertainty, Gasper gives the club a bit of depth all over. As the season rolls along, there will be inevitable injuries and fluctuations in performance, plus potential transactions. Gasper can bounce around to multiple positions in the big leagues or be kept in the minors as depth, depending on what happens with others on the roster. He has less than a year of service time, meaning he can be cheaply retained for the foreseeable future, if he manages to hold onto a roster spot. More to come. View the full article

The Mariners announced that they have avoided arbitration with right-hander Bryce Miller by agreeing to a one-year deal with a club option for 2027. Salary figures have not yet been reported. More to come. View the full article

(Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images) Léa Seydoux has officially joined Mikey Madison in the upcoming A24 adaptation of The Masque of the Red Death, a reimagining of the iconic Edgar Allan Poe story. According to a new report from THR, Seydoux will play the role of a “scheming lady-in-waiting who is conniving her way to the top.” She’ll join Madison in what promises to be one of the bigger movies whenever it sets a release date. Seydoux is a highly decorated actress, having starred in a number of high-profile films, including Midnight in Paris, Inglorious Basterds, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, Blue is the Warmest Colour, and more. What do we know about The Masque of the Red Death adaptation? Currently, little is known about the upcoming The Masque of the Red Death adaptation. It will be directed by Charlie Polinger, who recently released his directorial debut, 2025’s The Plague, last year. Originally published in 1842, The Masque of the Red Death is a short story from the legendary Edgar Allan Poe, and follows the story of Prince Prospero, a man who is attempting to avoid a dangerous plague known as the Red Death, by hiding in his abbey. The story follows Prospero as he hosts a masquerade ball in the abbey, with one mysterious figure dressed as the Red Death appearing. The movie previously starred Sydney Sweeney, but she was eventually replaced by Madison due to scheduling conflicts. For Madison, it’ll be her next movie following her critically acclaimed performance in 2024’s Anora, for which she took home the Oscar for Best Actress, with the film also winning Best Picture and Best Director (Sean Baker) awards. The post Léa Seydoux Joins Mikey Madison in Wild A24 Movie With Orgies appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

Photo Credit: Sony Pictures Spider-Man 4, Avengers: Doomsday, and Avengers: Secret Wars could be the start of a new golden age of the MCU. Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man 4, also known as Spider-Man: Brand New Day, is scheduled to be released this coming summer. It will be followed by Avengers: Doomsday in December, while Avengers: Secret Wars is then dated for 2027. What is the update on Avengers: Doomsday, Secret Wars, and Spider-Man 4? Appearing on a recent episode of My Mom’s Basement with Robbie Fox, Deadline’s Justin Kroll provided an update on Kevin Feige’s involvement with future MCU projects. Feige has been the president of Marvel Studios since 2007. While many have noted that Feige has often appeared to be “stretched thin” working on numerous MCU projects at the same time in the past couple of years, Kroll says that isn’t the case when it comes to Brand New Day, Doomsday, and Secret Wars. “He has been solely focused on [Doomsday] and Secret Wars for, like, a year straight,” Kroll said. “Like, this has been it…He puts Jake Schreier on, last year, as the director of X-Men…He’s kind of let Amy Pascal handle a lot of the Spider-Man stuff. There wasn’t much, really — like, Sadie Sink is there, but other than that, he is focused on this return. So, just know that, people. He’s in London all the time. If that dude has his mind set on just the one thing, like he used to do back in the day with Iron Man or Thor, they turn out good. It’s when he has like eight other things that it gets a little tougher.” Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31, 2026. Avengers: Doomsday will be released on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars then arriving on December 17, 2027. Both Avengers films are being directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, also known as the Russo Brothers. Originally reported by Brandon Schreur at SuperHeroHype. The post Why MCU’s Kevin Feige Is Only ‘Kind Of’ Involved With Spider-Man 4 appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

(Image Source: DC) Canadian actress Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, best known for her role as Svetlana in the widely popular Heated Rivalry series, has shared her interest in joining the DC Universe to play the newest live-action version of Starfire. The fan-favorite Teen Titans character was previously played by Anna Diop in the HBO Max show Titans, which lasted for four seasons from 2018 to 2023. What did Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova say about Starfire? During a recent interview with EnVi, Kharlamova explained why she wants to play Starfire in the DCU, revealing that she’s a fan of the superhero genre. She loves how superhero movies make people feel “less alone” and “inspired.” “I think it’s just such a fun genre,” She said. “(There’s) a certain sense of wonder. It’s just so beautiful, and I would love to be in a movie that evokes that feeling from people.” Besides Starfire, Kharlamova also admitted that there’s actually “plenty of cool characters” that she wants to play if she ever gets the chance. She also confirmed that she has been reading X-Men comics, seemingly hinting at her interest in also potentially joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2024, it was reported that DC Studios had started developing a live-action Teen Titans movie, with Supergirl movie writer Ana Nogueira attached to pen the screenplay. However, six months ago, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn revealed that he hadn’t read any script for the Teen Titans movie despite previous rumors about its first draft. “Anything you’ve heard about that movie is made up or a guess. No one in the world knows anything about the concept for the story except four people,” Gunn said. In the Creature Commandos series, Starfire actually had a brief, non-speaking cameo, which seemingly teased the character’s future in the DCU. The DC hero is set to receive her own animated show from DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation, which will be executive-produced by Josie Campbell. Gunn previously confirmed that this Starfire show will be part of the DCU’s Elseworlds. (Source: EnVi) Originally reported by Maggie Dela Paz for SuperHeroHype. The post Heated Rivalry Star Makes Pitch To Be DCU’s Starfire appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

Photo Credit: Sony Pictures A 28 Years Later 3 update clarifies a mysterious plot point featured in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is currently playing in United States theaters. The fourth film in the 28 Days Later film series, the movie, which was shot back-to-back with 28 Years Later, is directed by Nia DaCosta, while the script comes from Alex Garland. The cast includes Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Ian Kelson, Jack O’Connell as Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal, Alfie Williams as Spike, and Chi Lewis-Parry as Samson. Throughout much of 28 Years Later, Dr. Ian Kelson is seen interacting with Samson. This is initially possible because Dr. Kelson is giving Samson drugs to calm him down; however, as the film goes on, it becomes apparent that Samson may be becoming cured from the Rage Virus. Samson notably begins to speak after a while, for example, while another scene sees him unlock a childhood memory. What is the 28 Years Later 3 update? Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, DaCosta was asked about Samson and if he is truly cured from the Rage Virus. DaCosta said that this will be explored more in 28 Years Later 3, though she did provide some clarity about Samson’s actions in The Bone Temple. “This is so interesting because there’s going to be a third movie,” she said. “I was talking to Alex about it last night, and I don’t want to say anything that might need to be retconned because I have strong opinions about how I approached it for this movie. But I think I’m good to say that he’s not fully cured, and the level that he is healed is permanent. He’s not what he was [at the start of the movie], but is he one of us? I don’t know. But he’s not what he was.” A release date for 28 Years Later 3 has not yet been set. The post 28 Years Later 3 Update Clarifies Mysterious The Bone Temple Plot Point appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article

Photo Credit: Paramount+ The release date estimate for Landman Season 3 is a big talking point among fans of the first two seasons. Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace’s oil television series became a surprise hit, which continued its streak with the latest sophomore season as well. Now that the second installment has wrapped up, viewers are wondering whether there is a third one on the way. If yes, when will it be coming out? Here’s what we know so far about Landman Season 3’s release date estimate, news, and updates. What is Landman Season 3’s release date estimate? The release date for Landman Season 3 is estimated to be sometime in late 2026. This is based on the release pattern of the first two seasons. Season 1 premiered on November 17, 2024, and ended on January 12, 2025. Similarly, Season 2 debuted on November 16, 2025, with the season finale, titled “Tragedy and Flies,” airing on January 18, 2026. So, if the showrunners continue the same release pattern, the third season could arrive in November 2026. Currently, it’s just a speculation. The official release date will be announced by Paramount+ and the showrunners when the time comes. In the Season 2 finale, Ariana is brutally attacked by Johnny outside The Patch Café, but Cooper intervenes and beats him back. Later, Johnny dies, not from Cooper’s blows, but from a heart attack. As a result, Cooper may still face murder charges. Meanwhile, Tommy plans to open his own oil company, though that brings its own set of problems. Landman Season 3 news and updates Paramount+ renewed Landman for a third season in December 2025, long before the second season concluded, per Variety. Moreover, according to the outlet’s report, the Landman Season 2 premiere episode, “Death and a Sunset,” was viewed by 9.2 million viewers within two days of its release. Naturally, with such success in such short time, the show is bound to return for more seasons. Landman Season 3 cast members include Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, Jacob Lofland, Michelle Randolph, Paulina Chavez, and more. The post Landman Season 3 Release Date Estimate, News & Updates appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. View the full article