First Call: Steelers reportedly signing pair of WVU alumni; new team atop NL Central

The Steelers may be signing a pair of former West Virginia Mountaineers. Another Steeler raises eyebrows on social media. A new team is atop the National League Central. And the Penguins are mentioned on the fringes of a potential player acquisition.

All that in Tuesday’s “First Call.”

Multiple Mountaineers

It appears the Steelers are planning to sign a pair of former West Virginia football players.

The first is linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski. That’s according to Colin Dunlap of 93.7 The Fan.

The Bethel Park graduate played for the Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders and Atlanta Falcons after leaving Morgantown. Given the franchise’s questions at linebacker, why not bring in someone else to throw at the wall and figure out who may stick?

The Steelers hosted the 30-year-old Kwiatkowski on a tryout during the club’s mandatory minicamp last week. The franchise is also reportedly signing ex-Mountaineers long snapper Rex Sunahara to the 90-man roster. That’s according to his private long snapper coach, Kyle Stetler, via SteelersNow.com

Client @RexSunahara has signed with the @steelers and will compete with client Christian Kuntz.

Good luck to both of you!#longsnap #longsnapper #longsnapping #WelcometotheU #ELITE #RESULTS @XFL2023 @LBSAgent pic.twitter.com/CYcMK3ezsn

— Special Teams U™ (@SpecialTeamsU) June 19, 2023

The Steelers brought Sunahara on board in December 2021. He stayed on the roster through the first part of the 2022 offseason. At 6-foot-6, 242 pounds, Sunahara was also with the Miami Dolphins and San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL.

Message unclear

Steelers receiver Anthony Miller sent a cryptic tweet on Monday, simply stating “Thank You Pittsburgh.” He added no other context. So it’s unclear if that was a farewell message because he has been released or what the nature of it was. The NFL offices were closed for Juneteenth on Monday. So there were no transactions to be made official.

League office is closed today for Juneteenth. So look for your Anthony Miller news tomorrow.

— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) June 19, 2023

In January, the Steelers signed Miller to a one-year contract after spending almost all of the 2022 season on IR with a shoulder injury he suffered in August of last year.

Following Diontae Johnson and George Pickens on the depth chart, Calvin Austin III is healthy now in the slot. The Steelers still seem to believe in Gunner Olszewski as a special teamer. And the additions of Alvin Robinson and Hakeem Butler could be squeezing Miller off the roster.

Asking for Alex

Ottawa Senators forward Alex DeBrincat is a restricted free agent. After posting 73 goals over the last two years, he had 27 with the Senators last season and has stated he doesn’t want to sign an extension in Ottawa.

So The Daily Faceoff came up with a list of potential trade suitors, and the Penguins are on it.

“The Pens also have some interesting potential assets to offer if Ottawa wants immediate plug-and-play veterans in return for DeBrincat,” writes Matt Larkin. “Rickard Rakell’s only movement restriction is an eight-team no-trade list. If the Sens wanted help in goal, they could look into acquiring pending UFA Tristan Jarry’s rights if they made a trade before July 1.”

However, Larkin suggests the Penguins could be a long shot for the following reasons.

“If the Sens aren’t interested in their veteran pieces, the Pens aren’t positioned to make a competitive offer for DeBrincat. Their farm system is absolutely barren,” Larkin said. “While they’re in decent shape cap wise, they have to prioritize an extension for Jake Guentzel, who is eligible to sign one come July 1. They also need help on defense and need to spend some cap space on a No. 1 goalie, whether it’s Jarry or someone else.”

For all of those reasons, my guess is that the 25-year-old DeBrincat winds up somewhere else. The Hurricanes, Red Wings, Rangers, Panthers and Blues have also been mentioned as possible destinations. DeBrincat is a product of Farmington Hills, Michigan, so the Red Wings may be the smart bet.

A Reds return

There’s a new team in first place of the National League Central Division. It’s the Cincinnati Reds.

Thanks to their 5-4 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday, coupled with a 9-1 Milwaukee Brewers loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Reds leapt into first place at 38-35.

Joey Votto made his return to the lineup for Cincy after 72 games on the injured list. He homered along the way and had a go-ahead single in the sixth inning.

We missed Joey Votto homers. pic.twitter.com/kdzRjopVcn

— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2023

For the Reds, that’s nine wins in a row now. Via MLB.com, it’s the Reds’ longest winning streak since they won 10 in a row from July 19-29, 2012. They are in first place by a half game over the Brewers and three games in front of the backsliding Pirates. The Cubs are in fourth place, 3 ^1/2 games back.

The Cardinals are in last place at 30-43, eight games back.

Miami heat

Once the Pirates finish their series with the Chicago Cubs, they’ll head to Miami to play the red-hot Marlins. They won a fifth game in a row Monday night to improve to 42-31. That’s 4 ½ games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves (46-26).

Miami blanked Toronto 11-0 Monday, behind 19 hits. Five of them were from Luis Arraez. His 5 for 5 effort got his batting average up to .400. The last player in baseball history to hit .400 for a season was Boston’s Ted Williams in 1941 (.406).

Via MLB.com, the highest batting average in a team’s first 73 games, since 1941 based on current qualification rules was Andrés Galarraga at .420 in 1994.

With his second 5-hit game in the last three games, Luis Arraez is once again batting .400!!!! pic.twitter.com/R1qWr9V19o

— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2023

Arraez is attempting to be the first player since 1900 to be the batting champion in the AL and NL in consecutive seasons. With the Twins in 2022, Arraez captured the AL crown with a .316 average. The Marlins traded for him in January for right-hander Pablo López.