• If the Big 12 becomes a two-bid conference for the CFP bracket, then it might be adios for Alabama. Yes, really.
• Alabama must win out to be guaranteed a playoff spot. Even making SEC Championship might not be enough.
• BYU is perhaps biggest threat to Alabama’s playoff spot. Go figure.

Alabama fell out of favor with the College Football Playoff selection committee and is suddenly vulnerable to missing the playoff entirely if it reaches the SEC Championship game but loses in Atlanta.

That’s right, the SEC runner-up could be rejected from the CFP bracket, while the conference’s third-, fourth- and fifth-place teams make the field.

Yes, I’m serious, and it wouldn’t take anything all that crazy for it to happen. It could just take Brigham Young beating Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship.

Just like that, the Big 12 would move into position to become a two-bid league. Just like that, the SEC’s runner-up makes reservations for the Citrus Bowl.

What a crazy sport.

Next thing you know, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey’s reviving that old idea of an SEC-only playoff.

How BYU could knock Alabama out of CFP bracket

Follow along, as we unpack this wild, wild twist. Alabama tumbled six spots to No. 10 in the CFP rankings after a two-point loss at home to Oklahoma, a team the committee values enough to rank No. 8.

Alabama is safe for now, but slip even one spot to No. 11, and the Tide would be in danger of missing the playoff. Why? Because, the ACC and Group of Five qualifiers will snatch up two spots via automatic bids, even though they’re likely to be ranked behind Alabama.

In other words, to be safe for an at-large bid, a team needs to be ranked inside the top 10.

The committee almost certainly would prefer to avoid booting Alabama after a loss in the SEC Championship, but if No. 11 BYU reaches the Big 12 Championship and avenges its only loss by upsetting No. 5 Texas Tech, the committee could be left with little choice.

BYU, as the Big 12 champion, would move up in the rankings and be guaranteed a spot with an auto bid. Texas Tech already beat BYU in the regular season. If both the Red Raiders and Crimson Tide lost in conference championship games, there would be little justification to move Alabama ahead of Texas Tech.

So, stay with me, BYU snags a bid, Texas Tech stays ahead of the Tide and grabs an at-large bid, and it’s adios, Alabama, which touts one of the nation’s most robust schedules.

Florida State loss an anchor for Alabama

How would the committee justify booting Bama? By blaming Florida State. Although not specifically listed among selection criteria, this committee is keeping tally of bad losses.

Alabama getting smushed by the Seminoles in the season opener in Tallahassee lingers on the committee’s brain.

Don’t take my word for it.

“Notre Dame has two losses to teams that are within the top 13,” Yurachek said, referencing the Irish’s three-point loss to Miami and one-point loss to undefeated Texas A&M.

“Alabama obviously has the two-point loss at home last week to Oklahoma, but they have that loss, 31-17, at the beginning of the season at Florida State, a team that’s now 5-5. Florida State was up in that game 24-7.”

Considering this committee values good losses so greatly — it’s a key reason Yurachek says the Irish are four spots ahead of Miami, which beat Notre Dame — maybe Alabama could climb in the rankings by securing a good loss in the SEC Championship.

I’m being facetious. Or, maybe I’m not.

The committee has never selected a three-loss team for an at-large bid. Alabama has a chance to become the first. If Texas Tech wins its conference championship and keeps the Big 12 as a one-bid league, Alabama probably would be the first.

Or, Alabama has a chance to become the poster child for why playing and losing in a conference championship game is a booby trap.

Blake Toppmeyer is USA TODAY’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

New College Football Playoff committee chair Hunter Yurachek went straight into the firing line after Tuesday’s new CFP rankings were released. He fielded a variety of questions, with Notre Dame and Miami’s comparisons being a hot topic, considering the Hurricanes’ head-to-head win over the Irish.

He was also asked why Tulane gets the Group of Five nod over James Madison, the committee’s thoughts on Michigan’s case, the jumbled ACC and where USC is.

Here’s a partial transcript of what Yurachek told reporters Tuesday night:

Could you explain reasoning of Oregon being ahead of Oklahoma?

Yurachek: We had significant discussion of the teams 7 through 10, quite candidly, all grouped there together, comparing Oregon, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Alabama and the resumes of those teams.

Oregon, while their strength of schedule metric may not be as strong as an Oklahoma, we felt like they’re a very strong team on both sides of the ball offensively and defensively. They rank in the top 10 in most of the statistical categories that we use in comparison to other teams.

They had a really big win at Iowa two weeks ago. Iowa was ranked in our top 25 previously. They won at Penn State. I know Penn State is not the same Penn State we expected them to be this year. Still it’s a very challenging place to play, as evidenced by Indiana having to have a last-second touchdown to win there a couple weeks ago.

There was significant discussion about that, but Oregon at 9-1 just stayed one spot ahead of Oklahoma at 8.

What is committee’s view on Michigan and Wolverines’ resume this year?

Yurachek: We feel Michigan at 8-2 is a quality team. They’ve got two losses to two teams in our top 25. The loss earlier this year at No. 8 Oklahoma and a loss versus No. 15 Southern Cal. Quite honestly, that Southern Cal game and the Oklahoma game, we felt they were dominated in both of those games.

They’ve got some good wins on their resumes as well, the victory against Nebraska and then against Washington and of course the walk-off this past week against Northwestern. So Michigan is a very strong team in our pool at 8-2 and currently ranked 18th, and the committee has a great deal of respect for them.

Why is Virginia still at No. 19? Did Louisville’s loss and that being one of Virginia’s better wins hurt UVA?

Yurachek: I think you just said it right there. Virginia had an impressive win against a Duke team that’s at the top half of the ACC. Duke is now 5-5, and then Louisville with another loss fell out of our rankings. That was a significant win at the time for Virginia.

So you look at Virginia’s resume, they are 9-2. Their schedule strength lagged behind some of the teams that are in front of them. Then the losses to NC State, and even Wake Forest at 7-3, I think impact where Virginia’s currently ranked.

Compare and contrast Alabama’s resume vs Notre Dame?

Yurachek: I will tell you that we probably spent more time in our committee room comparing two or three teams at that band with Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Alabama. You’re asking specifically about Notre Dame and Alabama, easier to compare because you had the head-to-head matchups last week with Alabama and Oklahoma.

Alabama had that string where they had four really strong wins at Georgia, against Vanderbilt, Missouri and Tennessee. Then you look at Notre Dame, they’ve got a win against Southern Cal and a dominating win last week against a Pitt team that was ranked in our top 25.

Really where you break these teams down in the comparison, Notre Dame and Alabama, Notre Dame has losses to two teams that are within the top 13, a three-point loss against Miami to start the season and then a one-point loss versus Texas A&M.

Alabama actually has a two-point loss at home last week against Oklahoma, but they had that loss at the beginning of the season, 31-17 at Florida State, a team that’s now 5-5. Florida State was up in that game 24-7. They held Alabama to less than 100 yards rushing in that game. That really was a sign of some of the struggles Alabama was going to have rushing the ball. You go back and look at Alabama’s game against South Carolina where they scored two touchdowns late to win that game, and then the next game against LSU where they won both of those but didn’t rush the ball for 100 yards. Then again against Oklahoma was not able to move the ball on the ground.

So you look at the games that Alabama has struggled in, starting the season against Florida State, where they struggled with the ball. That’s two really good 8-2 teams, but I think you look at the losses of Notre Dame versus the losses of Alabama, and that was really one of the defining metrics that we used.

How do you distinguish Notre Dame and Miami when Miami beat Notre Dame?

Yurackek: I think there’s some other factors where you have Utah, BYU, and Alabama in between Notre Dame and Miami. As we set up the pools to do our selection process, Miami and Notre Dame have not been grouped in the same pools to have that direct head-to-head comparison, where you would really use that metric to separate one team from the next.

So I think it’s the separation that you have between those teams, similar to a separation you have right now between a Vanderbilt and Texas, where you have a head-to-head metric as well.

What made Tulane the most deserving Group of Five team to earn a rank?

Yurachek: First and foremost, the American is a really good conference this year, a really top heavy conference. Then you look at Tulane’s schedule, the fact that they have — they went outside of their conference and played three Power Four schools in Northwestern, Duke and Ole Miss, winning two of those three games, then a very impressive win at Memphis and a win against East Carolina, which is really coming on late.

That’s really what the committee saw with regards to Tulane as a team that checks in at 24 this week.

What does Miami have to do to get to that point where it could potentially be in a comparable tier with Notre Dame?

Yurachek: First and foremost, Miami needs to continue to win the football games they have in front of them, and then things will happen. There’s still a lot of football to be played with two more weeks in the regular season and then the championship week.

You look at the teams that are between Notre Dame and Miami right now, you’ve got Alabama that’s got a game against Auburn coming up and then potentially an SEC Championship game. BYU has a couple of games remaining and then potentially a Big 12 Championship game. Then you’ve got Utah with a couple games.

So I would say Miami needs to continue to win, and then hope for some things ahead of them fall their way.

How did Texas A&M and Indiana’s recent comeback wins affect their ranking?

Yurachek: I will tell you the committee, in evaluating the first half of A&M’s game versus South Carolina, it did look very much like a No. 3 team, falling behind 30-3 and having four turnovers in that game. Then in the second half they looked everything like a No. 3 team in the country, dominating the second half with outscoring South Carolina 28-0, out gaining them 371 yards to 76 yards, holding South Carolina to 11 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter.

I mean, what the committee saw in both Indiana and Texas A&M, good teams find ways to win games when they don’t play their best, and that’s what Indiana and Texas A&M both did, Indiana on the road at Penn State and Texas A&M at home this past weekend against South Carolina.

How would a loss in a conference championship games affect the rankings?

Yurachek: We will just use the conference championship games as another data point to use in ranking our teams. It’s hard to say if it will move a team up or down until we really have that data point and are able to compare that against other teams that play that weekend in conference championship games.

So it just becomes an extra point for those teams participating in the conference championship games.

Why Tulane over James Madison as Group of Five highest-ranked?

Yurachek: It’s really their strength of schedule. (JMU) played one Power Four team, and they lost that game at Louisville 28-14. Then you look at the strength of Tulane’s schedule, playing three Power Four teams that they lost to, our sixth-ranked team in Ole Miss, but they beat Duke and beat Northwestern. They’ve got wins also in the league, in the American, a very strong league against Memphis and East Carolina.

The loss versus UTSA is a metric that is on Tulane’s schedule. We have a lot of respect for James Madison and the team that they are, especially they’re really good on the defensive side of the ball. But the strength of schedule is probably the biggest differentiator between Tulane and James Madison at this time.

Why does committee have Utah above Miami?

Yurachek: In regards to Utah being ahead of Miami, I mean, Utah, they’ve lost two games this season, one to No. 5 Texas Tech, the other to No. 11 BYU. Comparatively, Miami’s lost two games, one at home to an unranked Louisville and one on the road against an unranked SMU. So when you talk about two teams that are 8-2 and you don’t really have a common opponent or a head-to-head matchup, you really look at the losses Utah has versus the losses that Miami has.

Utah right now, they are second in the country in their margin of victory in each of their games. They have played really good football moving forward. Obviously there’s a 12 versus 13, that one spot apart, but I think the differentiator is the losses that Utah has versus the losses that Miami has.

What is holding Georgia Tech back right now from moving up?

Yurachek: When you look at Georgia Tech compared to the teams that are ahead of them, you’re looking at Georgia Tech’s strength of schedule, which right now their schedule strength is 88 in the country. They struggled this weekend, kicked a field goal late to win at a 1-10 Boston College.

Their quality wins, as we see them today, is against a Duke team that’s 5-5, a Clemson team that’s 5-5, and a Wake Forest team that’s 7-3. But there was some controversy on the Wake Forest game. It’s a win on Georgia Tech’s side. So I think Georgia Tech, they need to continue to keep winning games and hope some things happen ahead of them that clear a path for them to move up.

How does committee view USC’s CFP case?

Yurachek: The committee had — Southern Cal has continued to climb. They had a big win against Iowa, who is in our top 25 last week. They had a dominating win against Michigan, who is ranked 18th. To go on the road and beat Nebraska, quality wins for them. Their losses were walk-off field goal at Illinois, who’s 21st in the rankings this week, and against Notre Dame.

The committee’s got a lot of respect for Southern Cal. They’re 8-2. They may be playing their best football right now at this point in the season. So they’re in a good spot at 15, and the committee really likes that team.

NEW YORK — At a time of the calendar year when college football typically commands sports fans’ attention, the men’s college basketball world won the night at Madison Square Garden with the Champions Classic.

The annual doubleheader clash between four of the sport’s biggest blue bloods — Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State — once again served as the unofficial kickoff event of the college basketball season with some of the sport’s top talent under the same roof on a Tuesday night in November.

The first of those games came with a clash between Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans and Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats, one that the 18th-ranked Spartans dominated in thanks to a big night from Jaxon Kohler and their ability to find their 3-point game.

Then, in the nightcap, Cameron Boozer helped No. 4 Duke defeat No. 23 Kansas, which was without star freshman Darryn Peterson.

With their wins, the Spartans improved their Champions Classic overall record to 6-9, while the Blue Devils moved to 9-6 in the event, which was back at ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’ for the first time since 2019. Meanwhile, with their losses, Kentucky dropped to 6-9 and Kansas dropped to 9-6.

Here are a few takeaways from The Garden:

Cameron Boozer delivers in MSG debut

For many, the annual Champions Classic doubleheader not only serves as the ‘official’ start of the college basketball season, since some of the top programs in the country are all under one roof, but it also provides the first opportunity for fans to watch some of the top players in the country on the same floor.

One of those players is Boozer, the No. 3 recruit in the 2025 recruiting class and son of longtime NBA player Carlos Boozer. In his MSG debut, Boozer finished with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds.

‘I still don’t think he played incredible. That’s the thing that’s really exciting,’ Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said on Boozer’s debut at The Garden.

‘He made some key plays, like the rebound in the first half, the outlet to Isaiah. I thought he did a great job putting pressure on the defense. … This place is different. Playing MSG, it’s different. I thought he did a really good job handling that.’

Kansas kept Boozer quiet in the first half from a scoring standpoint, as he finished with just seven points on 2-of-6 field goal attempts in the opening 20 minutes. That still didn’t stop him from impacting the game with his play-making abilities. Case in point: his full-court pass near the end of the first half to Isaiah Evans.

Similar to Duke’s opening game against Texas in the Dick Vitale Invitational, Boozer found his stride in the second half. He added 11 points in the second half alone, including a tough finish at the basket that drew a foul after the ball went in.

Kansas coach Bill Self said he thought his team defended Boozer ‘pretty well.’

‘I thought we did some good things. I think these guys would probably agree with me, when we screwed up, it seemed like he made us pay when we screwed up,’ Self said. ‘If you miss a block out he’ll make you pay on the block out. If we screwed up, which we did a few times … He’ll make you pay out of that.’ 

He then pointed to Boozer’s passing ability as something that stood out to him as well. He finished with five assists on the night.

‘He does a lot of things well, but he’s a really good passer,’ Self said. ‘I felt pretty good about how our guys defended (him), even in 1-on-1 type situations. But when we screwed up, he took advantage of it.’

Boozer’s big night at The Garden helped Duke to its ninth consecutive win at ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena,’ and the program’s 10th in its last 11 trips to what is commonly referred to as ‘Cameron North,’ a nickname given out by its fanbase with Duke having played at least one game at Madison Square Garden in 25 of the last 28 seasons.

Jaxon Kohler puts together big night as Michigan State finds 3-point shooting identity

Kohler set the tone on offense for the Spartans with an early 3-pointer in the game’s opening minutes, a ‘confidence’ booster of a shot that served to be an early sign of what would come against Kentucky from the senior 6-foot-9 forward.

‘After last game, I didn’t make one three. In the moment, it pissed me off and motivated me, but the next day, it didn’t affect my confidence because I know that I put the work in and I know how many shots I put up,’ Kohler said after the game in the Spartans locker room. ‘… Confidence is the biggest thing.’

The veteran forward showed a strong presence on the floor throughout his 27 minutes of action, as he was able to impact the game by controlling the entire offensive end with layups, mid-range shots and 3-pointers. He’d finished the night with a season-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, five rebounds and a block.

‘Jaxon’s gonna make plays,’ Michigan State guard Jeremey Fears Jr. said of Kohler. ‘I think he’s been a lot better passing out of the post … He’s hard to guard. He’s gonna fight off the rebounds. He’s gonna run the lane, he’s gonna match a catch and shoot. He’s gonna post up.

‘… I love that he’s on my team for sure.’

Kohler’s night punctuated Michigan State’s ability to find its 3-point shooting identity, a part of the Spartans’ game they aren’t known to win games with under Izzo. The Spartans’ identity in 31 seasons with Izzo, of course, has been their ability to win games by dominating the glass.

That isn’t to say Michigan State wasn’t able to gobble up rebounds. The Spartans out-rebounded Kentucky 42-28 on the night, including a 10-6 advantage on the offensive glass.

Even so, it was Michigan State did outside of its normal game that won the night.

The Spartans hit seven 3s in the first half to build a 44-27 halftime lead, with four of them coming before the first media timeout at the 13:15 mark of the half. That sharp shooting continued in the second half with four made triples in the final 20 minutes alone.

To emphasize how uncharacteristic of a night the Spartans had from beyond the arc, they entered the night with a 3-point shooting percentage (21.7%) that ranked 352nd in the country.

‘You know, I told my wife, I told my AD, I told my staff, we had three of the best days of practice. We went at it,’ Izzo said after the game. ‘We had two-a-days one day. I don’t know, that’s probably illegal now, I don’t know. But since there’s no laws and rules — right, since there is none, it doesn’t really matter, but we did.

‘I think when you get players to the point where they realize the work is beneficial for them and us, and that’s what wins like tonight will do. Maintaining that, there are 27, 26 games left, so don’t — as my buddy (former Alabama coach) Nick (Saban) says, don’t throw rat poison at me, but we deserve to feel good for a night because we weren’t great other than our shooting early.’

Kentucky unable to find a rhythm on offense

While Michigan State had an above-average night offensively, Kentucky did not.

‘We’re really disappointed, and we’ve got a lot of work to do,’ Pope said of Kentucky’s overall performance.

It didn’t start all that bad for the Wildcats. They traded early punches with the Spartans and even held a 17-14 lead at the first media timeout. The teams traded the lead seven times in the opening seven minutes.

It was out of the media timeout when things began to go downhill for Kentucky, which is expected to compete in the SEC in Pope’s second season. Down two starters in Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance and continuing to find its identity after adding numerous players from the transfer portal, the Wildcats were unable to keep up with the Spartans’ hot shooting as they underwent multiple cold stretches.

A 27.6% field goal shooting percentage combined with seven 3-pointers given up to Michigan State had Kentucky down 44-27 at halftime.

‘We just played poor. It was poor, poor attention to detail on the defensive end,’ Pope said.

Pope’s squad would show some life early on in the second half, even making it a 10-point game at the 9:37 mark, which forced Izzo to call a timeout. The Wildcats wouldn’t be able to keep that offensive momentum, as they fell back into an offensive slump and Michigan State built its lead back up thanks to the efforts of Kohler and freshman guard Cam Ward.

The Wildcats ended the night hitting just two of their final 10 field goal attempts, one of which was a three from Jasper Johnson with 30 seconds remaining in the game. And if that wasn’t alarming enough, Kentucky finished with just 14 assists on 20 made field goals on the night, which was one more assist than Fears finished with by himself for Michigan State.

‘I’ve got to do a better job. My messaging is not resonating with the guys right now. That’s my responsibility,’ Pope said. ‘We’re not playing like our teams play, and that’s my communication issue, so that’s a place we’ve got to work.

Kansas shows depth with Darryn Peterson out

Kansas found itself a man down entering the night, with Peterson being ruled out due to an ongoing hamstring strain. That still didn’t deter Bill Self’s program from giving the Blue Devils — who are expected to make another run at the ACC title in the Men’s NCAA Tournament — a close game.

A reason the Jayhawks were close to picking up their signature early-season win was their ability to rely on their depth. Kansas is now 0-2 on the season against top-25 ranked opponents, with the other loss coming to No. 19 UNC in Chapel Hill in the first week of the season.

One player who stepped up in Peterson’s absence was Flory Bidunga, who is off to a strong second season after an underwhelming freshman campaign. The Jayhawks’ 6-foot-10 forward finished with 14 points, six rebounds and an assist on the night despite being in foul trouble.

‘He’s gotten a lot better,’ Self said on Bidunga’s development. ‘The thing about Flow (Bidunga) is, to me, is he could play really well and not score because he’s so active. He can change the game with activity. His offensive game has gotten better. And I thought he played big tonight and he played athletic.’

Champions Classic 2025 scores

Here’s a breakdown of the scores from the 15th edition of the Champions Classic on Nov. 18:

• Game 1:No. 18 Michigan State 83, No. 13 Kentucky 66
• Game 2:No. 4 Duke 78, No. 23 Kansas 66

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NEW YORK — Cameron Boozer scored a team-high 18 points and No. 4 Duke beat No. 23 Kansas 78-66 in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in the first real test for the Blue Devils’ reworked and freshman-heavy roster.

‘I thought that especially down the stretch, we just showed great poise,’ said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. ‘That’s what it’s all about.’

Guard Isaiah Evans added 16 points and several key makes from deep for the Blue Devils. Center Patrick Ngongba had 13 points and 7 rebounds while battling foul trouble.

Kansas was led by guard Tre White, who finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds.

The Jayhawks played without freshman star Darryn Peterson, who missed his second game in a row with a hamstring injury.

His absence denied a high-profile matchup against Boozer, one of four premier recruits in Duke’s signing class; another is his twin brother, Cayden, a backup point guard who had 7 points and 3 assists. The two are the sons of longtime NBA forward Carlos Boozer, who also played at Duke.

One of the top prospects in the most recent recruiting cycle, Peterson was the No. 3 pick in the USA TODAY Sports way-too-early 2026 NBA mock draft.

‘Peterson being out changes their team, of course,’ said Scheyer. ‘But you also know those other guys are going to stand up.’

While White was able to recoup a chunk of Peterson’s lost production, the Jayhawks struggled at times in combating Duke’s athleticism and depth. The Blue Devils had nine players log at least eight minutes of action, showing off the makings of a deeper bench than last year’s Final Four team.

‘I thought it was the epitome of our team a little bit, in that all nine guys scored and all nine guys made big contributions,’ Scheyer said.

But no player was bigger than Cameron Boozer, who scored 11 points and pulled down 6 rebounds in the second half.

‘I like to rise to the occasion,’ he said.

Boozer was able to handle the environment at MSG, Scheyer said, adding, ‘I still don’t think he played incredible. That’s the thing that’s really exciting.’

Down 24-18 with 8:24 left in the first half following an emphatic alley-oop to Kansas forward Flory Bidunga, the Blue Devils clamped down defensively and held the Jayhawks without a field goal for nearly five minutes to go ahead 30-28.

That lead would grow to 41-33 at halftime after Evans drilled a deep 3-pointer from the left wing with four seconds remaining. Kansas went into the locker room shooting 13 of 34 from the field and scored just five points in the final 5:32 of the half.

Kansas would keep pace coming out of the break before a 3-pointer from the corner by freshman Dame Sarr — an Italian import by way of the Spanish club FC Barcelona — gave the Blue Devils their first double-digit lead at 51-41 four minutes into the second half.

A cold stretch from the Blue Devils, who missed all but one of their next nine attempts, helped KU make the score 54-49 with just under 13 minutes left.

Cayden Boozer responded with a jumper and layup on Duke’s next two possessions to put the Blue Devils ahead 58-51 just over a minute later. That triggered a strong response from the Jayhawks, who began to attack Duke in the paint and cut the advantage to 63-59 on a Bidunga dunk with 6:29 to play.

But the Blue Devils would respond with a key 3-pointer from Evans as the shot clock expired with 3:49 left, pushing the lead to 72-64. That was part of a 9-0 run down the stretch to put the game away.

‘I think the room for us to grow is as big as any team in the country,’ Scheyer said. ‘We have a real team. We don’t just have five players. We have a real team.’

The Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles swung a trade late on Tuesday, Nov. 18, exchanging a pair of former first round picks.

Baltimore is acquiring Taylor Ward from the Angels in exchange for pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, the teams announced.

Ward, 31, appeared in a career-high 157 games this past season and launched a career-high 36 home runs. The outfielder posted a .228/.317/.475 slash line. He was drafted by the Angels in the first round of the 2015 draft and made his debut with the team in 2018.

Rodriguez, 26, was the 11th overall pick in the 2018 draft. He’s been solid when healthy but has struggled with injuries. He has not appeared in an MLB game since July 31, 2024.

Rodriguez posted a 4.11 ERA in 43 starts with the Orioles over two seasons (2023 and 2024). He has 259 strikeouts in 238.2 innings and has gone 20-8.

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