The Evening Brief: Batum exits, Verlander gets farewell stage, baseball locks in future
Tuesday evening brought managerial stability to baseball and clarity to the fall calendar. Nicolas Batum retired after 18 NBA seasons, while a landmark media deal removed its final legal obstacle and the Hawks made a last-minute roster adjustment ahead of camp.
The day's clearest thread is baseball locking in its future: two organizations moved to bind their leadership for the next four years, Justin Verlander has a farewell stage, and the postseason bracket is nearly locked.
The New York Mets named Andy Green their full-time manager on a three-year contract on September 22, removing the interim tag Green held since late June when the club fired Carlos Mendoza. Green compiled a 37-38 record as interim manager and led the Mets to a 31-28 mark after the All-Star break. The same day, the Boston Red Sox named Chad Tracy their 49th full-time manager on a three-year contract through 2029 with a 2030 option. Tracy, 41, took over in June when the Sox fired Alex Cora and five coaches following a 10-17 start. He has compiled a 74-55 record since. The Red Sox simultaneously exercised club options on chief baseball officer Craig Breslow for 2029 and 2030, binding the front office and dugout together for four years beyond 2026. The Red Sox clinched a postseason berth on Sunday and are 84-72 overall, nearly certain to face the Yankees in a Wild Card Series for the second consecutive year. Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy stated that the organization is "on solid footing" with "continuity and stability."
In the final days before the regular season ends, the Tigers scheduled Justin Verlander's likely farewell start for Saturday, September 26, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Verlander, 43, has been sidelined by hip and hamstring injuries since March 30. After a successful bullpen session Tuesday, the Tigers set his return. Verlander is not expected to pitch a full game and could throw just one inning, similar to Charlie Morton's farewell appearance with the Braves last season.
Meanwhile, in the WNBA, Olivia Miles scored 21 points in the Minnesota Lynx's 101-89 victory over the Connecticut Sun on September 20, breaking Caitlin Clark's WNBA rookie scoring record. Miles, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft, swept the Rookie of the Month award across all available months this season.
Off the field, Paramount settled a multi-state antitrust lawsuit on September 21, removing the last major legal obstacle to its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The deal combines CBS Sports and TNT Sports into a single entity that would hold broadcast rights across nearly every major U.S. professional and college sports league except the NBA. A trial scheduled for March 2027 has been averted. Under the settlement terms, Paramount will be subject to independent editorial boards created for both CNN and CBS, face a $30 million penalty per film if it falls short of a 30-movie-per-year commitment, and face a $650 million ticking fee for each quarter the deal does not close beginning October 1. California attorney general Rob Bonta stated that the settlement is "not a vote of support for this merger, or a blessing of the broader merger" and added that further consolidation in essential markets "doesn't serve the economy, consumers, or competition well."
In the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks traded guards Buddy Hield and Ryan Nembhard, along with cash, to the Charlotte Hornets for forward Dorian Finney-Smith. Finney-Smith, 33, played just 37 games last season for the Rockets due to ankle surgery. His $13.3 million salary this season is guaranteed, but his future salary is not, allowing Atlanta to exit after one season without penalty. The trade signals final roster adjustments before training camps open.
Nicolas Batum announced his retirement from the NBA on September 21 after 18 seasons. The 37-year-old made his announcement at Gym Even in Pont-l'Évêque, France, the same gym where he began playing basketball 35 years earlier. Batum was a key role player on the Clippers' 2020-21 Western Conference Finals team and represented France at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
New Orleans Saints left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., the ninth overall pick in the 2025 draft, suffered a severe high ankle sprain late in the third quarter of the team's 24-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday and will undergo surgery with an indefinite return timeline. Coach Kellen Moore announced Monday that Banks is out indefinitely. Per NFL Network, Banks "has a chance to return late in the season if all goes well."
Baseball's postseason is set, with two managers signed to multi-year deals on the same day and a hall-of-famer scheduled for a final start. Off the field, a $110 billion media acquisition cleared its last major regulatory hurdle.
Tuesday locked in baseball's managerial future for four years and gave Verlander a farewell date. Paramount's antitrust settlement clears the path for a media merger that will concentrate sports rights across nearly every major league except the NBA. In the NBA, the Hawks made a last-minute roster adjustment, and Batum closed an 18-year career. The coming days will test whether the new Red Sox and Mets partnerships produce the sustained improvement both organizations are banking on, whether Verlander can complete his farewell appearance, and whether the Paramount-WBD merger closes by its October 1 deadline.
Sports, checked.
Sources
- Miles breaks Clark's WNBA rookie scoring record, September 20
- Paramount Settles Antitrust Suit; $110 Billion WBD Deal Clears Final Regulatory Hurdle (September 21)
- Saints left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. faces surgery after severe high ankle sprain in Week 2
- Andy Green named Mets' full-time manager on 3-year deal, September 22
- Chad Tracy named Red Sox's 49th manager on 3-year deal, September 22
- Hawks trade Hield, Nembhard to Hornets for Finney-Smith
- Nicolas Batum retires after 18 NBA seasons
- Tigers set Verlander's farewell start for September 26 vs. Pirates
No betting advice.