The deal, announced a few minutes before the Angels’ series finale against the Houston Astros, could mark the beginning of an extensive rebuilding process for the Angels, who entered play Wednesday with an American League-worst 42-66 record and 13 1/2 games behind the Rangers in the AL West.
“We know we have to start shaking up this roster, and today was day one,” Angels interim general manager John Mozeliak said. “Clearly, where the Angels are at right now, we need to do things differently.”
Silseth, 26, was one of the Angels’ top relievers, going 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 47 games this year. O’Hoppe, 26, appeared in 75 games, batting .209 with 23 RBIs.
Arredondo, 19, hit .247 with eight home runs, 15 doubles and 47 RBIs in 86 games for low-A Hickory this season. He signed with the Rangers as an international free agent out of Mexico in 2024.
The 2026 ESPY Awards provided the latest evidence of that, with the Dodgers two-way player winning two trophies, as determined by fan votes, at Wednesday night’s ceremony in New York.
But as surprising at it may be — especially to those of us in the Los Angeles area who have witnessed the Japanese baseball phenomenon during his nine years with our local MLB teams — not everyone on the planet is familiar with the four-time MVP and two-time World Series champion.
The ESPYs provided evidence of that as well. Boxers Mike Tyson and Jake Paul joined musician DJ Khaled to present the award for best single-game performance. Ohtani — nominated for his historic Game 4 of the 2025 National League championship series against the Milwaukee Brewers — was the winner, as announced by Tyson.
Paul told the crowd that Ohtani was unable to attend the event, but “he sends his gratitude and appreciation to ESPN and everyone who voted for him.”
Afterward, a hot mic picked up Tyson seeming to ask Paul a rather unexpected question:
“Shohei’s a guy?”
The question seemed to be genuine, and Paul gave a casual response to his friend and former boxing opponent. “Yeah, he’s a guy,” Paul appeared to say as the trio started leaving the stage.
The Times reached out to a Tyson representative for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
No shade toward Iron Mike for apparently not knowing much about Ohtani. Tyson is a legend in his sport and has a number of other ventures and interests that occupy his time. While he did throw out a ceremonial first pitch before a Brewers-Pittsburgh Pirates game in 2014, Tyson just might not be all that into baseball.
Also, the name Shohei isn’t at all common in the U.S., even amid Ohtani’s massive popularity. According to Parenting Patch, only nine American babies were given that name in each of the last two years. All of them were boys, but the odds are good that Tyson doesn’t know any of them.
If Tyson hasn’t been following Ohtani’s career, though, he’s missing out. Take the aforementioned Game 4 of last year’s NLCS as an example. Ohtani hit three home runs and pitched six-plus scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in a 5-1 victory over the Brewers that completed an NLCS sweep and sent the Dodgers to the World Series for the second straight year.
“That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,” manager Dave Roberts said after the game.
Ohtani was much more low-key in his postgame assessment.
“This time around, it was my turn to be able to perform,” he said through interpreter Will Ireton. “I think just looking back over the course of the entire postseason, I haven’t performed to the expectation.”
With his performance that night, Ohtani beat out fellow nominees Tyce Armstrong of Baylor baseball (three grand slams in a game), Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat (83 points in a game) and Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame basketball (16 steals in a game) for the award.
That epic game certainly contributed to Ohtani’s other ESPY of the night. He was named best MLB player over fellow nominees Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners and Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
For the first time in more than two weeks, the Sparks won a game.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 24 points with eight rebounds, Rae Burrell added 22 points and Dearica Hamby had 21 in what felt like a near must-win game against Indiana on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak, 106-92.
“I think people were tired of how we were losing,” Ogwumike said. “Not just losing, but how we were losing, and we knew that there was more that we could give. … I think we all individually held ourselves accountable to be able to do more, to pour more into what we got going on. I took it upon myself to try my best to like, you know, play harder in possessions.”
The Fever committed 17 turnovers, which the Sparks (9-11) converted into 22 points, and All-Star Caitlin Clark scored her second-fewest points this season with just nine in limited minutes while returning from injury. Kelsey Mitchell scored 29 points for the Fever, but the Sparks seemed to have an offensive answer each time.
Indiana (12-9) was without star center Aliyah Boston (lower right leg), who Fever coach Stephanie White said would play in the second game of a back-to-back set Thursday in Phoenix. Clark, in and out of the lineup because of a back injury all season, never got going and was an abysmal minus-16.
Coming off an 18-point loss to Seattle at home on Monday, Ogwumike said that injured All-Star guard Kelsey Plum gave the team an inspired speech Tuesday.
“Everyone had a little bit of feedback that she gave, both encouragement and also points of improvement for each person, and I think it was received,” Ogwumike said. “It was received in a way that not only did we want to change how we, you know, approach today, but also to familiarize ourselves with sustaining the way that this feels moving forward.”
“KP lit a fire under our ass,” Burrell added.
All five Sparks starters scored in double digits, and the 106 points were the most the franchise has scored in a home game.
Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever talks with teammates during the second quarter.
(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
“I’m happy we won, obviously, but I’m more happy with how we played,” coach Lynne Roberts said. “The response that we showed from just laying an egg on Monday to coming back and, you know, we talked about playing more connected, having a little more smarts out there, defensively emptying the tank, getting out and running and playing with pace.”
The Sparks rode a 16-2 run midway through the second quarter to lead by as many as eight before the half.
They didn’t slow down going into the third frame, opening with 18 points in the first five minutes to take a 13-point lead. Burrell and Kiana Williams hit consecutive threes late in the third after the Fever cut the lead to eight points, and it was never close again.
Plum (lower left leg) and center Cameron Brink (left ankle) remained out of the lineup, and the Sparks extended their bench to give significant minutes to Alissa Pili, Jihyun Park and Williams.
Pili, signed to a developmental deal this week, scored four points with five rebounds in her first WNBA action since last September because of a right ankle injury.
Wednesday’s win also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Fever dating to last season.
The Sparks will complete their three-game homestand against Chicago (7-14) on Friday.
“We wanted to play harder,” Ogwumike said. “We wanted to own each possession and to compete at every level for the full 40 minutes of play. It’s really that simple. I think when you put your heart into playing that hard, the schemes, the plays, the execution, it comes to fruition. And tonight, it felt good. It felt good emptying the tank.”
NEWARK, N.J. — Protesters clashed with armed federal immigration officers in front of a New Jersey detention center where advocates have demonstrated for days while asserting that people detained there are staging a hunger strike over poor living conditions.
Groups of demonstrators, many wearing gas masks and other face coverings, linked arms in a human chain in front of Delaney Hall in Newark on Wednesday night, videos and photos posted on social media show.
Some used trash cans, old mattresses, umbrellas and other materials as makeshift shields and barricades as they confronted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Others attempted to block people and vehicles from entering and exiting the building or threw orange traffic cones and other objects in the direction of the ICE officers lined at the entry gate.
The group chanted, “You will hang!” and, “Every cop, every fed, shoot yourself in the head,” and other taunts at the officers, many of whom wore helmets and tactical vests.
The ICE officers used pepper spray to try to disperse the protesters, according to videos posted to social media. Some used their batons to beat and push back protesters as the officers attempted to clear the roadway for vehicles.
At least one truck driver got out of his vehicle to vent his frustration when some protesters tried to block vehicles driving on the road in front of the detention center. People detained inside could at times be seen waving to protesters from Delaney Hall’s windows.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said about six demonstrators were arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers.
“Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and felony,” the agency said in a statement. “Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
On Thursday, demonstrators again returned to Delaney Hall.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill also said state health department officials were “denied full access” to the facility for a health inspection. The Democrat said the officials were only allowed to inspect a limited part of the facility as she called on ICE to “de-escalate” the situation.
“As I’ve said repeatedly, refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view,” Sherrill said in a statement that also repeated her calls to shut down the facility outright.
Earlier Wednesday, Democratic members of Congress from New York City toured the facility as part of an oversight visit. A private prison company runs the detention center, which sits along an industrial stretch of Newark Bay.
Reps. Jerry Nadler, Daniel Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, who all represent Manhattan, described dire conditions where people held in the facility are fed small portions of often spoiled food and their varied medical needs are ignored.
Homeland Security spokespersons have denied any hunger strike, abuse or poor conditions inside the center and dismissed criticism from opponents as political posturing.
Jeff McNeil hit a tying homer in the ninth inning and Tyler Soderstrom had an RBI single in the 10th to rally the Athletics past the Angels 6-5 on Wednesday night.
The Angels loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 10th but left-hander Hogan Harris got Jorge Soler to ground out, sending the Angels to their 23rd loss in 29 games.
A’s reliever Scott Barlow (1-0) threw a scoreless ninth for the win. Angels right-hander Chase Silseth (1-1) took the loss after giving up an unearned run in the 10th.
The teams combined for eight runs in the first two innings, with the Angels taking a 5-3 lead on Soler’s two-run homer in the first and Jo Adell’s solo shot and Josh Lowe’s two-run drive off A’s starter Aaron Civale in the second.
Soderstrom hit a two-run single in the first, and Henry Bolte scored when Lowe misplayed Carlos Cortes’ single to left field in the second.
Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz walked four and hit a batter with a pitch in the first two innings, but the right-hander retired 12 straight batters — six by strikeout — from the third through the sixth before handing the ball to the bullpen.
Mike Trout rounds second during the first inning Wednesday.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Angels reliever Ryan Zeferjahn plunked two batters in the seventh, and Sam Bachman gave up an RBI single to Nick Kurtz, trimming the Angels’ lead to 5-4.
Bachman retired the side in order in the eighth, but Kirby Yates couldn’t convert his first save opportunity for the Angels, as McNeil led off the ninth by curling his second homer inside the right-field foul pole, tying the score at 5.
Cortes walked with two outs and Shea Langeliers was hit by a pitch, but Angels left-hander Tayler Saucedo, called up from triple-A earlier Wednesday, got Kurtz to tap back to the mound to end the inning.
