Today’s MLB trade deadline heating up; U.S. Men’s Gymnastics ends medal drought

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💪 Good morning to everyone, but especially to …

TEAM USA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL …

Make it 56 (!) Olympic wins in a row for Team USA women’s basketball. The Americans raced past Japan, 102-76, in a rematch of the Tokyo Games final as they opened their quest for an eighth straight Olympic gold.

• Like she’s been doing all WNBA season, A’ja Wilson dominated to the tune of 24 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
• Breanna Stewart added 22 points, giving the Americans’ star-studded starting front court 46 points total.
• The U.S. women racked up 34 assists on 42 made field goals. Every single player who saw the court scored.

… AND TEAM USA MEN’S GYMNASTICS

One of my favorite things about the Olympics (a long list, admittedly) is the fact that in a very black-and-white, win-or-lose world, there is glory second and third place, too. And for the first time since 2008, Team USA Men’s Gymnastics finished on the podium, earning a bronze medal.

Here are the names you need to know: Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik and Fred Richard.

This was big-time stuff from the quintet. As Lyle Fitzsimmons noted, 15 of the team’s 18 individual scores in Monday’s final round exceeded what the team produced in the preliminary round. Richard posted a huge floor routine, and after hours of waiting, the pommel horse specialist Nedoroscik put a bow on the day with a strong final performance. The bespectacled Penn State grad is an early breakout American star at these games, Matt Norlander writes.

• Norlander: “The guy’s got serious Clark Kent aura, you know? … Nedoroscik was brought across the Atlantic Ocean for one reason and one reason only: to throw his body around a pommel horse in a lithe-yet-powerful fashion. He nailed it, and in doing so, he clinched the bronze for the United States.”

Here are more updates:

• Live blog
• Medal tracker
• Where to watch today’s action
• U.S. Swimming adds four more medals.
• Here’s how the USMNT U23s can advance to the quarterfinals.
• Jimmer Fredette leads Team USA into men’s 3×3 basketball action. Here’s how it works.
• Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal, 6-4, 6-1, in what might end up being their last meeting.

👍 Honorable mentions

• Giancarlo Stanton is back, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit his first and second home runs with the Yankees.
• Patrick Mahomes doesn’t feel underpaid (even if he really is).
• Caleb Williams wants to play in the Hall of Fame game.
• Tyreek Hill is the first player in the “99 Club” of Madden 25.
• Deebo Samuel is interested in playing yet another position.
• Taylor Decker signed a three-year, $60 million extension with the Lions.
• The Bills have high hopes for this wide receiver.
• James McCann finished the game after getting hit in the face by a pitch. It wasn’t pretty, but it was courageous!
• Jack McCaffery — son of Iowa coach Fran — committed to Butler.

😐 And not such a good morning for …

THE TAMPA BAY RAYS

The Rays have made the playoffs in five straight seasons, including a World Series run in 2020. This year, they’re dropping out with months to go. Tampa Bay has already dealt Randy Arozarena (Mariners), Zach Eflin (Orioles), Isaac Paredes (Cubs), Jason Adam (Padres) and, last night, Amed Rosario (Dodgers) — and they might not be done before today’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline.

This all came with the Rays just a few games out of an AL Wild Card spot. This is a perfect example of “loser mentality,” Matt Snyder writes on Snyder’s Soapbox.

• Snyder: “The motivation behind the Rays moves is particularly gross. … Arozarena and Paredes are players to build around, not to cheap out on. These deals are saving money for ownership while the local taxpayers are picking up $429.5 million of the tab on a new ballpark. … They are playing the game of saving their owner money, which is tantamount to spitting in the face of their paying customers. Instead of praising this, more people should be calling them out. I’m happy to be part of the resistance here.”

Furthermore, the last decade is littered with teams who were in a similar position to the Rays before going on huge runs. The Rays have always made do with less, but there’s a fine line between strategizing and giving up. Matt says it’s the latter in this case, and that’s a bummer.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

• Ja’Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson are not practicing as they seek new contracts.
• It was a tough day of practice for Drake Maye.
• Denico Autry was suspended six games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
• Samson Ebukam (torn Achilles) will miss the entire season.
• Brian Allen (calf) is on the IR.

⚾ Dodgers, Cardinals ace three-team trade; White Sox flub again

The Dodgers and Cardinals are gearing up to make runs, and the White Sox are sprinting to the bottom of the standings. That led to a three-team trade Monday, one day before the trade deadline.

• Dodgers receive: UTL Tommy Edman, RHP Michael Kopech, RHP Oliver Gonzalez
• Cardinals receive: RHP Erick Fedde, OF Tommy Pham, PTBNL from Dodgers
• White Sox receive: OF Miguel Vargas, 2B Jeral Perez, INF Alexander Albertus, PTBNL from Dodgers

We’ll be quick here. Much like the season as a whole, the Dodgers and Cardinals won, and the White Sox lost, so says R.J. Anderson’s trade grades.

• “Dodgers: A | [Edman is] a nifty addition to a lineup that, though hardly short on star power, could use a little more length (and a little more health) heading into the stretch run. … No team in baseball is more likely than the Dodgers to help Kopech optimize his game, be it by tweaking a pitch grip or his usage patterns, and turn into a shutdown late-inning reliever.”
• “Cardinals: A | [Fedde] pounds the zone with a broad arsenal that’s fronted by a 90-mph cutter and a 93-mph sinker. His best pitch is a sweeping slider that has held opponents to a .167 average and a 27.9% whiff rate. … [Pham] still minds the zone and can put a charge into the ball, though he’s best when deployed specifically against lefties.”
• “White Sox: D | For whatever it’s worth, three evaluators with rival teams we spoke to agreed that this package felt light. Maybe the White Sox see something — in Vargas, but also Albertus and Perez — that will allow them to get the last laugh.”

Making things worse, things don’t seem to be going well with Chicago’s attempt to trade Garrett Crochet, and the White Sox set a franchise record for consecutive losses … for the second time this season. Sigh.

As we mentioned earlier, the Dodgers weren’t done, adding Amed Rosario shortly thereafter.

Anyway, with the trade deadline hours away, make sure you’re dialed in:

• Trade deadline tracker
• The Braves reunited with Jorge Soler.
• The Guardians acquired Lane Thomas.
• The Brewers got Frankie Montas.
• The Mariners added Justin Turner from the Blue Jays, who also shipped Yusei Kikuchi to the Astros.

🏀 Steve Kerr plans to play Jayson Tatum, but was his explanation a cover up?

The biggest story of Team USA men’s basketball’s win over Serbia was that LeBron James and Kevin Durant seem destined to dominate basketball for however long they play.

The second-biggest story was that Jayson Tatum didn’t play … at all. He wasn’t hurt. He wasn’t sick. He was benched.

That won’t be the case today. Steve Kerr vowed to play the recent NBA champ against South Sudan after saying Tatum didn’t fit into the team’s rotations and matchup preferences against Serbia. But Brad Botkin says Kerr’s explanation is just covering up the hard truth.

• Botkin: “What he’s saying, in essence, is that he thinks Devin Booker, who is damn near the same player as Tatum, is a better fit through the lens of supporting the starting lineup, and he thinks Anthony Edwards is a better player, period. … You can argue that Derrick White maintains second-unit offensive clarity as a non-scorer with a clear-cut duty to defend in the same way Jrue Holiday does for the starters. Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo are positionally necessary, and Durant is, well, Durant. … If Tatum’s ego has to take a hit in the spirit of [winning gold], so be it.”

📺 What we’re watching Tuesday

🏅 We’re watching the Olympics. Here’s how.
⚽ USMNT U23s vs. Guinea, 1 p.m. on USA
🏀 Team USA men vs. South Sudan, 3 p.m. on USA
⚾ Yankees at Phillies, 6:40 p.m. on TBS
⚾ Dodgers at Padres or Nationals at Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m. on MLB Network