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FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are fully committed to Dak Prescott, and their franchise quarterback wants Mike McCarthy back as the coach.

So do standout receiver CeeDee Lamb and star edge rusher Micah Parsons.

Team owner Jerry Jones, at least publicly, hasn’t been as clear about his plans with McCarthy’s contract set to expire after completing his fifth season. They likely will be talking later this week about what is next.

Jones spoke to reporters for more than 45 minutes after the Cowboys ended their 7-10 season with a last-second loss to playoff-bound Washington, saying he didn’t know if he was even considering making a coaching change and talking about McCarthy being one of the league’s best coaches. But the owner never provided any certainty that the coach would remain with the team.

“I’m not trying in any way to play a guessing game here with anybody,” Jones said. “We’ve got some work to do, and we need to do some things differently, and we can, and that’s usually the case.”

Dallas has now gone 29 seasons since the last of its five Super Bowl titles. The Cowboys haven’t made it past the divisional round of the NFC playoffs since that 1995 season, including after three consecutive 12-5 regular seasons under McCarthy.

Prescott, after agreeing to a record $240 million, four-year contract right before the season opener, missed the final nine games with a torn hamstring. Lamb, perennial All-Pro guard Zack Martin, cornerback Trevon Diggs and rushing defender DeMarcus Lawrence also finished the season on injured reserve.

The big question after a season plagued by injuries to so many Pro Bowl-caliber players is if the Cowboys can get back to where they were in the previous three years.

“This is the lowest of the lows, I would say. And if you give myself another opportunity, you give this is locker room another opportunity and attack this thing in the right way, I promise you will be a playoff-contending team this year,” Parsons said. “I know the challenges that we face and how we can still overcome those things if we are still in it together. So I’m glad I went through this this year. You know, it is humbling, you know, to be reground, reset.”

McCarthy will almost certainly have other options if he doesn’t stay in Dallas, but said he and the Cowboys have a lot invested in each other and that there was no question in his mind that he was in position to move forward with Jones. He is 49-35 with the Cowboys, and has a 174-112-2 record in 18 seasons overall as an NFL coach, the first 13 with Green Bay and with a Super Bowl win, though that was 14 years ago at AT&T Stadium.

“I’ll just be clear. I’m a winner. I know how to win. I’ve won a championship. I won a championship in this building,” McCarthy said after the season-ending 23-19 loss to the Commanders, who scored the winning touchdown with 3 seconds left. “We’ll see where it goes.”
Payday for Parsons?

Parsons, the first player since Reggie White in 1982 with at least 12 sacks in each of his first four seasons, is next in line after Prescott and Lamb for a big contract. Lamb got a $136 million, four-year deal in August after a month-long holdout before the final season of his rookie contract.

With Parsons now heading into the final season of his rookie contract, the Penn State standout said he hopes to have a new deal in place as soon as possible. But he has said that he doesn’t intend on holding out.

Even though he missed four games this season with a high ankle sprain, Parsons finished with 12 sacks after 2 1/2 in the last game. He had two on the opening drive.
Aubrey getting his kicks

Brandon Aubrey kicked four field goals in the finale, giving him an franchise-record 40. He is only the fifth kicker in NFL history with at least 40 field goals, joining Chris Boswell (41) this season, and behind David Akers’ record 44 in 2011.

None of Aubrey’s kicks Sunday was from 50 yards, but his 14 this season were an NFL record.

After 36 field goals as a rookie last season, Aubrey is the only NFL kicker to make at least 35 field goals in each of his first two seasons.
Other coaching contracts expiring

McCarthy isn’t the only Cowboys coach on an expiring contract. His entire staff of assistants was signed only through this season. That includes offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and special teams coordinator John Fassel.
Next steps

The decision on McCarthy’s future has to be determined first of all before the Cowboys can really move forward in the offseason.

After that comes the recovery of the players who were injured this season, including Prescott, right guard Martin and Diggs, the cornerback who has had consecutive injury-filled seasons.

Martin, a 2014 first-round draft pick and seven-time All-Pro pick, had season-ending ankle surgery in December. The decision by the 34-year-old on whether to come back for a 12th NFL season could determine how much more flux there will be for the offensive line.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers are planning to sign running back Ezekiel Elliott to their practice squad pending a physical, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday night.

The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the move had not been completed.

The Chargers (11-6) are the No. 5 seed in the AFC and open the playoffs at Houston on Saturday in a wild-card round game.

Elliott was released by the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 31 so that he could possibly sign with a playoff team seeking a veteran running back. The same thing happened last season when Dalvin Cook was cut by the New York Jets and played for Baltimore in a divisional-round win over Houston.

This season in 15 games, Elliott had just 74 carries for 226 yards with a 3.1-yard-per-carry average, all career lows. The two-time NFL rushing champion has 9,130 yards and 74 rushing touchdowns in nine seasons.

J.K. Dobbins is the Chargers’ starting running back. Gus Edwards missed the last two games of the regular season with an ankle injury.

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Veteran reliever Chris Martin signed a one-year contract with his hometown Texas Rangers on Monday night, returning to a team he pitched for in 2018 and 2019.

Martin went 3-1 with a 3.45 ERA in 45 relief appearances for Boston last season, when he struck out 50 batters in 44 1/3 innings and his three walks were the fewest by qualified major league relievers. The right-hander had a 2.16 ERA in 100 games for the Red Sox the past two years.

The 38-year-old Martin has a 16-18 career record with a 3.38 ERA and 14 saves in 369 games — all in relief. His career began with Colorado in 2014, and he pitched for the New York Yankees in 2015 before going to Japan in advance of his first stint with the Rangers.

Texas traded Martin in 2019 to Atlanta. He was with the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022 before going to the Red Sox in free agency.

Right-hander Matt Festa was designated for assignment to make room on the Rangers’ big league roster.

Earlier in the day, Texas traded right-hander Owen White to Cincinnati for cash.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

ByMIKE REISS
January 6, 2025, 1:29 PM

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he planned to move quickly to hire a head coach, while also addressing the decision to fire Jerod Mayo after just one season.

“This whole situation is on me,” Kraft said Monday. “I feel terrible for Jerod, because I put him in an untenable situation. I know that he has all the tools as a head coach to be successful in this league. He just needed more time before taking the job.

“In the end, I’m a fan of this team first, and now I have to go out and find a coach who can get us back to the playoffs and hopefully championships.”

The Patriots, who were 4-13 under Mayo, have already submitted a request to speak with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, according to a source.

Kraft, 83, was also asked if former Patriots linebacker and former Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel is near the top of his list.

“There are some wonderful people that we’ve heard about. I’d rather respond to that after I’ve seen everyone,” Kraft said. “We want to interview as many people as we can that we think can help us get to that position that we want to be in.”

Kraft said his son, team president Jonathan Kraft, will be involved in the interview process along with senior personnel executive Alonzo Highsmith and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf.

Kraft said Highsmith and Wolf “will be staying on” as the Patriots are “looking for people working together.” But he also acknowledged the hiring of a new coach could potentially alter internal dynamics because the coach will “obviously have big input on who the players are, and who the coaches are — it will be his decision.”

Of the decision to fire Mayo, Kraft said he “went back and forth” over the past month. He described a Week 1 win at Cincinnati as his high point of the season, but “midseason, I think we started to regress.”

Kraft said he didn’t inform Mayo of his decision until after Sunday’s season finale, when the Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 23-16 — a result that bumped them from the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft to the No. 4 spot.

“He was a man,” Kraft said of his conversation with Mayo after the game. “Look, it was one of the more difficult things I’ve had to do in my life because I had such affection for him. And I believe in him. I really do believe as he gets more experience, he’ll be successful. He was a gentleman and accepted it that way.”

Kraft acknowledged that negative fan reaction in recent weeks, which included chants in the team’s home stadium to fire Mayo, had an impact in his decision.

“We don’t own this team; it’s owned by the fans of this region,” Kraft said. “We’re custodians of a very special asset of the community. That helps me try to make decisions. That if it was just personal, it would be different.”

BySHAMS CHARANIA AND TIM MACMAHON
January 6, 2025, 2:19 PM

Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving has a bulging disk in his back and is expected to miss at least one to two weeks, sources told ESPN.

There is optimism that treatment over the coming days will provide a return-to-play target date, sources said.

The Mavs announced Sunday that Irving would miss Monday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies with a lumbar sprain in his back. He did not join the team on the road trip, remaining in Dallas to be reevaluated, sources said.

Irving did not play in Friday’s home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, when he was ruled out hours before tipoff with an illness.

Dallas is already down one superstar, as guard Luka Doncic has been out since suffering a strained left calf during the Christmas Day loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Doncic, who was seen using a scooter to move around at the arena Friday night, is expected to be reevaluated in the final week of January.

The Mavs, who also dealt with suspensions to forwards Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington stemming from a Dec. 27 altercation with Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic, have lost four consecutive games entering Monday night. Dallas (20-15), the defending Western Conference champion, is 0-3 when missing both Doncic and Irving this season.

Irving, 32, has performed at an All-Star level in his 14th NBA season, averaging 24.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 49.0% from the floor and a career-best 44.1% from 3-point range.

ByROB DEMOVSKY
January 6, 2025, 3:09 PM

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson sustained a season-ending torn ACL in Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears, coach Matt LaFleur said Monday.

“Yeah, it’s not good,” LaFleur said. “He’ll be out for this season or the rest of the year.”

As for quarterbacks Jordan Love and Malik Willis, both of whom sustained injuries in Sunday’s game, LaFleur wasn’t sure whether they would be limited in practice this week. Love left the game in the second quarter after landing on his right elbow, which caused numbness in his throwing hand. Willis played the rest of the game but banged his throwing hand on the helmet of a Bears player on the second-to-last series of the game.

“I talked to both of those guys,” LaFleur said. “They seem to be doing all right, but as far as their limits, I think they’re going to be OK, but we’ll find out over the next two days.”

Watson was coming off a bruised left knee that forced him to miss the previous week’s game at Minnesota. It’s unclear whether that had any impact on the injury to his right knee. The injury came on a noncontact play in which the ball went to Dontayvion Wicks across the field. Watson needed help getting off the field and was carted to the locker room.

“That’s a tough one,” Love said Sunday. “Obviously, I’m not sure the exact circumstances, but just seeing it on the field, him going down noncontact like that, it’s tough. It’s really tough, especially Christian trying to bounce back from what he’s been dealing with and to be able to go out there and have that happen, it’s tough. I feel for Christian.”

Watson, a third-year pro who played in all but two games this season, led the Packers with a 21.4-yard average per catch. He caught 29 passes for 620 yards and two touchdowns and was the team’s best deep-threat receiver.

The timing of his injury not only wiped him out of the playoffs, which the Packers begin Sunday at the Philadelphia Eagles, but also means he’s likely to miss a large portion of next season, when he will be in the final year of his rookie contract.

ByTODD ARCHER
January 6, 2025, 3:29 PM

FRISCO, Texas — Jerry Jones’ timeframe on whether to keep Mike McCarthy as Dallas Cowboys coach could be affected by the Chicago Bears.

Multiple sources said the Bears have sought permission to speak with McCarthy regarding their head coaching vacancy. A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the Cowboys have yet to respond to the request.

McCarthy’s contract expires Wednesday, but the Cowboys hold exclusive negotiating rights through Jan. 14. After that McCarthy would become a coaching free agent.

After Sunday’s 23-19 season-ending loss to the Washington Commanders, Jones continued to praise McCarthy but was noncommittal regarding the coach’s future in Dallas.

McCarthy said he “absolutely” wants to return to Dallas, where he has posted a 49-35 regular-season record but is just 1-3 in the playoffs. The Cowboys finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020, McCarthy’s first season.

Jones was asked if he would allow a team to speak to McCarthy if it sought permission, and the owner and general manager said he just did something similar with running back Ezekiel Elliott, releasing him in the final week of the season for the chance to join a playoff team.

“I wouldn’t want anybody coaching who didn’t want to be here,” Jones said.

Jones and McCarthy are set to meet this week on the direction of the franchise. When asked if McCarthy could return as coach but not call plays, which he has done the past two seasons, Jones said, “Anything is possible.”

McCarthy met with the team Monday morning and gave no indication of his future. He thanked the players for their hard work and went through the end-of-season checklist, such as meeting with the medical staff and their position coaches.

“I’m in the wind just like you guys,” Micah Parsons said.

Though McCarthy’s intent Sunday was to remain in Dallas, it’s not known if Chicago’s interest will change anything.

“I have a lot invested here. And the Cowboys have a lot invested in me,” McCarthy said after the game. “And then there’s a personal side to all these decisions. They all point the right direction. I think anytime you invest your time, energy, your belief, the connection you have, the relationships that are in place here, the understanding of what the organization can do and is willing to do, those are all positive attributes that you take into account. But, you know, absolutely, I’m a builder. I believe in building programs. I believe in developing young players. So, at the end of day, it is about winning, and you have to have those components in place to get this thing where it needs to be. I think we have a very good foundation here.”

McCarthy’s 174 wins are 13th in NFL history. He coached the Green Bay Packers from 2006 to 2018 and won six NFC North titles and Super Bowl XLV.

He has a 19-7 record against the Bears in his career.

Coincidentally, Chicago is one of the Cowboys’ opponents in 2025.

Besides McCarthy, the Bears also reportedly requested to interview Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson during Detroit’s week off before its playoff opener. According to Schefter, the Bears also requested interviews with Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Interim head coach Thomas Brown will also receive a formal interview, according to GM Ryan Poles.

ByKEVIN SEIFERT
January 6, 2025, 3:29 PM

EAGAN, Minn. — Kevin O’Connell made clear Monday that he wants to continue as the Minnesota Vikings’ head coach, even as his contract status has reportedly spurred interest from other NFL teams in acquiring his services via trade.

“I’m not really interested in kind of, I guess I should say, addressing the rumors or speculation,” O’Connell said. “What I can tell you is I love this team. I love everything about this organization. This is where I want to be. This is where I want to keep coaching and leading.”

O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah each signed four-year contracts when they were hired within weeks of each other in 2022. They put together a combined 20-14 record in their first two seasons, but owners Zygi and Mark Wilf decided against offering contract extensions to either at the midpoint of their deals. Mark Wilf said in August that those discussions would be targeted for after the 2024 season, if warranted, and the Vikings went on to post an unexpected 14-3 record and qualify for the playoffs.

But until a deal is reached, O’Connell would be on track to be a coaching free agent after the 2025 season. Sunday morning, Fox Sports reported that multiple NFL teams would be interested in acquiring O’Connell via trade if the Vikings were to make him available.

But multiple team sources said this weekend that the Wilfs have no interest in trading O’Connell, and O’Connell’s statement Monday demonstrated he had no interest in forcing his way out. He said his “sole focus at this point” is finding a way to move on from Sunday’s 31-9 loss to the Detroit Lions and start laying the foundation of a win against the Los Angeles Rams in next Monday’s wild-card playoff game at SoFi Stadium.

“[I’m not interested] in any conversations in my opinion at this point that really aren’t about the Rams and the task at hand,” O’Connell said, “and my personal responsibility to lead immediate improvement off of yesterday but also capitalizing on the opportunity to be in the tournament. [That’s] my sole focus at this point.”

In three seasons in Minnesota, O’Connell has a 34-17 regular-season record, sixth best in the NFL over that period. He is one of three coaches in NFL history, along with Matt LaFleur and George Seifert, to win at least 13 games in two of his first three seasons as a head coach.

ByALDEN GONZALEZ
January 6, 2025, 3:59 PM

Sheel Seidler, the widow of San Diego Padres chairman Peter Seidler, sued two of his brothers Monday in an attempt to become the team’s control person.

In a complaint filed in Texas probate court, Sheel Seidler claims she and her three children have been “effectively ostracized” from the organization since Peter Seidler’s death 14 months ago. The suit names Robert and Matthew Seidler as defendants, accusing the brothers of “fiduciary breaches of trust, fraud, conversion and egregious acts of self-dealing” in their roles as trustees and executors of Peter Seidler’s estate.

The Padres announced Dec. 21 that Peter’s oldest brother, John Seidler, would become the team’s control person, which Sheel opposed and claims went against her late husband’s wishes.

In a letter to fans, Sheel called her complaint “a very last resort” to “protect my family and to continue to carry out Peter’s legacy.”

“[A]s the holder of the largest individual ownership stake in the San Diego Padres, and the sole beneficiary of the Seidler Trusts, which possesses exclusive rights with respect to control of the franchise, I am seeking to be named the control person for the Padres,” Sheel Seidler wrote as part of her letter.

A statement from a spokesperson for the Peter Seidler Trust, which controls the Padres, called Sheel’s complaint “entirely without merit.”

“Peter had a clear estate plan,” the statement continued. “The plan specifically named three of his nine siblings, with whom he had worked closely for many decades, as successor trustees of his trust and Peter himself prohibited Sheel from ever serving as trustee. The trustee is exclusively responsible for designating the San Diego Padres’ next control person.”

The statement alleged that Sheel agreed in a sworn document that she had “no right to be or to designate the control person and that she would not interfere with the designated control person. The statement also alleges that Sheel stated in May 2024 that John Seidler “would be the best control person for the Padres.”

Peter Seidler, a two-time cancer survivor, died from complications of an infection on Nov. 14, 2023, leaving behind Sheel and their children, now ages 4, 9 and 11. Eric Kutsenda, a longtime friend and business partner, was named interim control person before essentially turning over responsibilities to John Seidler 13 months later.

Sheel Seidler’s complaint claims assurances from Peter’s brothers that they would act for the benefit of Sheel and the children have “shown to be hollow” in the wake of his death.

Matthew and Robert Seidler “not only disregarded the clear terms and purpose of the will and trust instrument that Peter created, but they also have intentionally schemed to take for themselves the estate and Seidler trusts’ value rights and assets,” the complaint reads. “They have done so by misleading Sheel, engaging in conflicted transactions and egregious acts of self-dealing, and when Sheel began expressing concern and questioning their actions, they responded by demeaning and attempting to intimidate her — including by using trust assets to pay lawyers to threaten her into submission and silence.”

“They are trying to erase Peter’s vision and legacy,” another part of the complaint reads, “as well as falsely cast themselves as Peter’s true heirs.”

Under Peter Seidler, the Padres became a financial juggernaut, signing and retaining stars and placing the club alongside big spenders such as the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. Fans rallied around the team, setting attendance records at Petco Park.

Peter Seidler, grandson of prominent former Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, was part of a group that purchased the Padres in 2012 and assumed the role of chairman eight years later, becoming the organization’s largest stakeholder. The pinnacle of Peter’s ownership tenure arrived in October 2022 when the Padres defeated the rival Dodgers — once deemed by Peter as “the dragon up the freeway that we’re trying to slay” — in the National League Division Series, before being eliminated the following round.

In the first offseason after Seidler’s death, the Padres, who by that point had lost their local media contract through Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy proceedings, decreased payroll by about one-third.

Padres general manager A.J. Preller nonetheless fielded a competitive team in 2024 that won 93 games, made the playoffs for the third time in five years and almost defeated the Dodgers in the NLDS once again.

Seidler often expressed his hope to bring San Diego, a city that lost its NFL team, its first championship. Sheel Seidler believes she is the person who can help bring that dream to fruition.

“While the children and I feel Peter’s absence every day, our collective devotion to this team is stronger than ever,” Sheel Seidler wrote. “Peter and I always planned, one day, to leave the team to the children. That remains my steadfast commitment. In the meantime, it is my intention to build upon the many recent successes, investing in both the short-term and long-term future of the franchise, and ensuring our dream of multiple championships is fulfilled.”

John Seidler’s appointment as control person is still pending the approval of three-quarters of MLB’s owners. A vote hasn’t been scheduled but could occur as early as the upcoming owners meetings in February.

Sheel Seidler’s complaint alleges that she and her three children are not welcomed at the ownership suite during games and that Robert and Matthew Seidler have gone as far as to “inform Padres employees that Sheel is not an owner of the team, and that her presence and input are not welcome in interacting with free agents and current players.”

Sheel Seidler also claims to have been excluded from charitable events meant to mark Peter Seidler’s legacy.

The complaint includes what is said to be a handwritten note from Peter Seidler, listing the priorities for control person in the event of his death, with Sheel and the children at the top.

Sheel Seidler and the children own approximately one-quarter of the Padres, fulfilling MLB’s requirement of at least a 15% stake to qualify as a control person. But Matthew and Robert Seidler have “frozen Sheel out,” according to the complaint, and “deprived her of the benefits of being the largest beneficial owner of the baseball team, while themselves enjoying the benefits.”

The statement from the Seidler trust lauded John Seidler as someone who “has the right experience and shares Peter’s vision for the Padres: ensure there is a consistently competitive team on the field and a best-in-class fan experience, with the goal of bringing championship-caliber baseball to San Diego.”

ByTIM MACMAHON
January 6, 2025, 6:29 PM

New Orleans Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson is on the verge of returning to action after missing two months because of a left hamstring strain.

The Pelicans announced that Williamson, who returned to practice last week, has been upgraded to questionable for Tuesday’s home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Williamson has not played since a Nov. 6 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, missing the past 27 games for the 7-29 Pelicans.

Injuries have plagued the Williamson’s career, limiting the 2019 No. 1 pick to 190 games over five and a half seasons. He has career averages of 24.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Williamson has had persistent issues with his hamstring over the past few seasons. A hamstring strain sidelined him for the final 45 games of the 2022-23 season, when he was selected as an All-Star for the second time. He played a career-high 70 games last season but exited a play-in game because of a hamstring strain that sidelined Williamson for the Pelicans’ first-round playoff loss.

The Cincinnati Reds acquired infielder Gavin Lux from the Los Angeles Dodgers for a draft pick and an outfield prospect, the teams announced on Monday, adding another prime-age hitter to a team that hopes to ascend in the National League Central this year.

Lux, 27, won two World Series titles with the Dodgers and showed flashes of the talent that at one point had him ranked among the best prospects in baseball. With the team moving Mookie Betts to shortstop last season and signing infielder Hyeseong Kim last week, Lux was available via trade. The Dodgers received Cincinnati’s competitive balance Round A pick (worth around $2.5 million in bonus-pool money) and outfielder Mike Sirota, a third-round pick in 2024.

Cincinnati’s roster already includes a cadre of options at Lux’s main positions: shortstop Elly De La Cruz, second baseman Matt McLain, third baseman Noelvi Marte, corner infielder Jeimer Candelario utilityman Santiago Espinal and first basemen Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Still, Lux’s athleticism — he has played 45 games at outfield — could allow the Reds to move him around in search of at-bats.

After a dreadful start to 2024 following an ACL tear that kept him out of the 2023 season, Lux was one of the most productive hitters in baseball in the second half, batting .304/.390/.508 and putting up two wins above replacement in 61 games. Lux is expected to make slightly more than $3 million in arbitration this year and will reach free agency after the 2026 season.

Under new manager Terry Francona, the Reds hope to rebound from a disappointing 77-85 season that included breakout campaigns from De La Cruz and right-hander Hunter Greene but it was not enough in a middling National League Central Division.

By receiving the extra $2.5 million in draft capital, the Dodgers will help make up for a bonus pool that was lacking. Because Los Angeles exceeded the luxury tax threshold by more than $40 million, its first-round draft pick, set to be 30th overall, was moved back 10 spots to 40th.

Sirota, 21, has physical tools that have long intrigued teams — including the Dodgers, who drafted him in the 16th round in 2021. He declined to sign and went to Northeastern, where he showed a power-speed-patience game that prompted Cincinnati to take him with the No. 87 pick in last year’s draft and sign him for $863,300.