The home opener always features an elaborate introduction where every single player on the roster runs onto the floor as they’re individually announced.

Every Timberwolves reserve received a decent applause as they were introduced Saturday at Target Center ahead of Minnesota’s bout with Miami.

Then came Naz Reid — also a bench player — who received one of the loudest cheers of the night.

A couple hours later, the arena was roaring with “Naz Reid!” chants. One of the crowd favorites carried Minnesota to its first win of the season.

Reid was electric Saturday, making all of the proper decisions and hitting a number of timely shots. He finished with 25 points and eight rebounds in just 28 minutes as the Timberwolves toppled Miami 106-90.

“We got back on track tonight,” Reid said during his on-court, postgame television interview, “and looking to stay on track moving forward.”

Reid ignited a stagnant offense by playing with the perfect combination of smarts and aggression. When he had an open shot, he took it. When a defender was closing out, he drove. When there was an open man, he hit him. He makes each of those decisions in a split second.

That’s what makes good offense go. Through the first six quarters of the regular season, Minnesota lacked such direction. The Wolves held the ball and lacked movement and flow. It’s why Minnesota (1-1) lost in Toronto and why it was struggling with the Heat (1-2), who were missing a chunk of their rotation — including Jimmy Butler, who was resting on the second half of a back to back.

Reid is an antidote for all of that. His movement sparks movement of others. When he is on the floor, good offense is sure to follow. It’s fun to watch the big man operate. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch noted Reid is one of the team’s best ball movers.

Reid is a catalyst for good basketball.

He also continues to get better. Finch noted Reid looks better at attacking mismatches, chasing opponents around the arc and rebounding. Every year, the big man takes another leap.

“He obviously does a lot of spectacular things in this game, but it’s really a testament to what a great summer can do for you. He’s got a lot of confidence.”

That’s why Timberwolves fans adore him. It’s why Finch couldn’t take him off the floor in the fourth quarter Saturday, playing Reid over Karl-Anthony Towns. And it’s why Minnesota had no choice but to re-sign Reid this offseason, even though the Timberwolves already had two all-star centers on the roster.

“Fun to watch him play, for sure,” Finch said.

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It was only a matter of time before another organization hired Chicago Cubs executive Craig Breslow for a top front-office position.

The Boston Red Sox on Wednesday tabbed Breslow, 43, to become their new chief baseball officer. He replaces Chaim Bloom, whom the Red Sox fired last month.

The Cubs hired Breslow in January 2019 as director of strategic initiatives for baseball operations, and he worked his way up to assistant general manager and vice president of pitching as a trusted voice in president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer’s inner circle.

Under Breslow’s oversight of adjustments to the pitching infrastructure, the Cubs saw gains in velocity and homegrown arms during his five seasons in the organization.

The Cubs’ struggles to develop homegrown arms contributed to their inability to build off their 2016 World Series title. This season represented another important step forward on that front.

Left-hander Justin Steele became a Cy Young Award contender during a breakout 2023 season.
Right-hander Adbert Alzolay thrived in the closer role.
Lefty Jordan Wicks, the Cubs’ 2021 first-round pick, made his major-league debut during the wild-card race.
Right-hander Cade Horton, the 2022 first-round pick, has quickly become one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.
And right-hander Ben Brown took a step forward in his development after the Cubs acquired him from the Philadelphia Phillies at the 2021 trade deadline. Brown was poised to make his big-league debut before an injury sidelined him near the end of the season.

The Cubs promoted Breslow to director of pitching and special assistant to then-President Theo Epstein and then-GM Hoyer in October 2019. As director of pitching, Breslow was tasked with strategic management of the minor-league pitching infrastructure.

Breslow, a lefty reliever, spent 12 seasons in the majors, including five in Boston, where he won a World Series title with the Red Sox in 2013. He graduated from Yale with a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry.

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Saturday’s postgame interview session with Jordan and Tyler Nubin included heartfelt moments and some revealing ribbing between the Gophers teammates and brothers from St. Charles, Ill.

Jordan Nubin came off the bench to rush 40 times for 204 yards and two touchdowns in Minnesota’s 27-12 win over Michigan State, while Tyler, an all-Big Ten safety, reveled in his little brother’s big day while chipping in five tackles of his own.

“I’m so proud of kid right here,” Tyler said. “It’s been a long time coming, man. All he does is grind. All he does is work. And you see that. You see the fruition of his hard work.”

Jordan, a former walk-on defensive back, clearly looks up to his big bro.

“Every single day, being able to see him in a facility,” Jordan said of Tyler. “He’s just a great mentor, a great brother. He’s a great person to everybody, not just me. So it’s just amazing. Being able to share this moment with him.”

“You mean that, bro?” Tyler asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“Of course,” Jordan replied.

The Nubins are roommates in the team hotel the night before games, and Tyler, big on pregame proclamations, said he called it on Friday night. Jordan was going to get a shot against the Spartans, with three U running backs out injured.

“I told him what was gonna happen,” Tyler shared. “I told him he was going to have like 200 yards and we was gonna get interviewed at the end of the game.”

Jordan just nodded.

The Nubins’ parents were athletes at Eastern Michigan, where mother Sherese was on the track and field team and father Rodney played football.

But it was clear under the brothers’ pleasantries that there is a healthy level of competitiveness between them. They are two years apart in school.

First question in the news conference: “Who is the best athlete in the Nubin house?”

“Right here,” Tyler said.

Later, they were asked about backyard football games as kids in Illinois.

“No comment,” Tyler said.

“There are a lot of fights,” Jordan acknowledged.

Then they were presented with a current-day scenario: Would Jordan be able to run over Tyler on the field?

“I don’t know,” Jordan answered. “I’m not going to say too much.”

The brothers play against each other in the Madden video game, but even Jordan was willing to conceded to Tyler on that one.

“Rough sledding,” Jordan said of those outcomes.

Tyler just smiled; he was doing that a lot on Saturday.

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Neither of the Orioles’ pitching coaches will be back on manager Brandon Hyde’s staff in 2024, though one will remain in the organization.

Chris Holt will focus on his duties as Baltimore’s director of pitching and no longer also serve as the club’s major league pitching coach, while assistant pitching coach Darren Holmes is the lone other member of the staff not expected to be back next season, a source with direct knowledge of the team’s plans confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.

Holt, 44, was one of Mike Elias’ first hires after the latter became the Orioles’ executive vice president and general manager in November 2018, with Holt having served as a minor league pitching coach and coordinator in the Houston Astros’ system while Elias was in their front office. Holt has since played a major role in both Baltimore’s pitching program overall and the growth of individual pitchers, notably helping left-hander John Means in the spring of 2019 to fine-tune the changeup that has become his signature pitch.

Holt was Baltimore’s minor league pitching coordinator in 2019 before becoming the organization’s director of pitching in 2020; in that role, he oversees pitching development throughout the organization. His return to that role as his sole focus comes after three seasons as Hyde’s pitching coach.

In 2021, the first of those campaigns, the Orioles’ pitching staff ranked last in the majors in ERA, but their performance in 2022 marked the sport’s biggest year-to-year improvement in more than 90 years. Several young starters, such as Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer and Tyler Wells, took steps forward in 2023.

Holmes, 57, was also involved in that progression. He has been with the Orioles since 2020, serving as their bullpen coach that season before spending the previous three years as assistant pitching coach.

Before joining the Orioles, Holmes was the Colorado Rockies’ bullpen coach from 2015 to 2019. After his 13-year pitching career — which included a stint with Baltimore in 2000 — Holmes spent nearly a decade as the Director of Sports Performance at Acceleration Sports Institute, with his background in biomechanics eventually leading to a consulting job with the Atlanta Braves.

It’s not yet clear whether the Orioles intend to replace both Holt and Holmes on the major league coaching staff, though the organization does have at least two notable internal candidates for any opening.

Justin Ramsey, Triple-A Norfolk’s pitching coach and Baltimore’s upper-level pitching coordinator, joined Holt as one of the first coaching hires of Elias’ front office. He has worked closely with Holt and Holmes in his efforts with the Tides’ pitchers, with Rodriguez, the club’s top pitching prospect at the time, often crediting Ramsey for his improvements after a return to the minors.

Pitching strategy coach Ryan Klimek has played a significant role in the Orioles’ game planning for opponents over the past two seasons, drawing praise from the club’s pitchers and Hyde; 2023 was Klimek’s seventh year with the Orioles, beginning as a player development intern in 2017.

Hyde, 50, is set to manage the Orioles for a sixth season in 2024, a season he could spend as the reigning American League Manager of the Year after guiding Baltimore to 101 wins and the AL East crown this year. His coaching staff also includes bench coach Fredi González, major league field coordinator/catching instructor Tim Cossins, major league coach José Hernández, hitting coaches Matt Borgschulte and Ryan Fuller, offensive strategy coach Cody Asche, first base/outfield coach Anthony Sanders and third base/infield coach Tony Mansolino.

MASNSports.com first reported the changes to the Orioles’ coaching staff.

Around the horn

The Orioles claimed left-hander Tucker Davidson from the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday. Davidson, 27, has a 5.98 ERA in 55 career appearances (17 starts) with the Braves, Los Angeles Angels and Royals. Baltimore’s 40-man roster is full.
Earlier this week, the Orioles signed right-hander Nate Webb to a two-year minor league contract. Webb, 26, missed 2023 after undergoing Tommy John elbow reconstruction in the spring. Yet to appear in the majors, Webb reached Triple-A in the Royals’ system in 2022.

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