PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 14: Louis Varland #77 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches in the eighth inning during the 96th MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Out last off-day of the All-Star break. There is an MLB game today, the Mets and Phillies are playing tonight.
The Jays play tomorrow night, it is an Apple TV game, only of those things I hate.
The Jays have Spencer Miles starting tomorrow. I don’t understand why we have a bullpen type day after several days off, but then there are many things I don’t understand about this season. I guess Miles has gone 4.1 innings in three outings, so maybe he could do five tomorrow? He’s had six days off. And, you know, the pen is rested.
But still, would you not go with one of your ‘real’ starters, who have also had time off?
Saturday Shane Bieber starts and Sunday it is Trey Yesavage. Kevin Gausman gets the Monday start against the Rays and then we have Dylan Cease.
A seven game home stand and, you know, seven wins would get us back over .500. Just saying. The Jays are 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, but personally, I don’t think any team under .500 will make the playoffs, even if the last wild card spot is a game under .500 at the moment.
Mayo: “He’s the best high school catcher in the class. There’s power there, he’s a really good defender behind the plate. I think what makes it stand out additionally is that the Blue Jays did not have a second-round pick, so to get a talent like Will Brick in the fourth helps offset the fact they didn’t have a second-rounder, cause he’s at least a second-round talent.”
Nice to hear, since we didn’t have a pick until #39 and then not again until #103. Brick was our third pick.
Rotowire has a list of the 25 unluckiest batters of the first half. Number 25 on the list is Vladimir Guerrero. To come up with the list they compared expected batting average, expected slugging average and expected wOBA to what the players actually posted. Vlad’s batting average is .025 below expected, slugging .049 and wOBA is .031 below expected.
Also on the list is Bo Bichette at 20th. Top of the list is Austin Wells from the Yankees (.052 below expect BA, .097 below expected slugging and .056 below expected wOBA.
I guess the hope is that hope is that luck has to even out at some point. But then I don’t know that it likely to even out this season.
This is interesting, teams are using AL on iPads to, let’s say, consult on managerial decisions, like pinch hitting, pitch calling, etc.
According to a commissioner’s office memo obtained by The Athletic, teams were pushing the boundaries of guidelines governing the use of technology by “in many cases” installing custom apps that expanded the use of the iPads “beyond their originally intended purpose to include…
PHILADELPHIA — Jordan Walker rooted for Chipper Jones as a young Braves fan raised in suburban Atlanta and used to beg his family to take him to baseball games at Turner Field.
Walker’s parents -- “Jordan’s Dad” and “Jordan’s Mom,” as known by their customized jerseys at the Home Run Derby — often obliged. Derrick Walker and his 7-year-old son were out in left field seats for an April series in 2010 when Braves slugger and future Gold Glove winner Jayson Heyward made his debut.
Oh, for sure the younger Walker still cheered for Jones.
But to see a young Black star such as Heyward command the outfield the way Walker wanted to play, a new favorite player was born.
“As soon as Jayson Heyward debuted,” Walker said. “I was like, oh yeah, that’s the guy. That’s who I want to be like.”
The significance of representation in the Black community was never lost on Walker.
So when Walker, a former St. Louis Cardinals’ first-round pick once on the cusp of bust territory after several demotions over the last few seasons, had his breathtaking, breakthrough moment with a six-swing, six-homer rally past Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber to win the Derby, he hoped his star-making turn would inspire more young Black athletes to follow in his footsteps and choose baseball.
Just as he was inspired by Heyward.
“For Black kids, I want to kind of be a role model for them,” Walker said, “like he was for me.”
With each prodigious blast off his customized Iron Man bat, the 24-year-old Walker silenced the Philly boo birds clamoring for a home team Schwarber victory and shined in his coming-out party beyond the St. Louis bubble and to the entire baseball world.
He flashed the kind of swag that appealed to a younger generation much in the way Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. did in his heyday. Walker wore his Cardinals hat backward, chewed a big wad of bubble gum and reveled afterward in flashing his imitation Liberty Bell bling, the champions’ chain presented by Ryan Howard.
None other than career home run leader Barry Bonds gave Walker his stamp of approval — “you got my trophy, too” — for winning the greatest Derby he’s ever seen.
“That means the world to me,” Walker said.
Walker is among the scores of All-Star talents leading a modest uptick of Black baseball players in the major leagues. When Houston and Philadelphia played the 2022 World Series that featured no U.S-born Black players, Astros manager Dusty Baker noted, “It looks bad. But there is help on the way.”
They’re here — with Walker as the All-Star weekend centerpiece.
“I think once kids see more people to look up to,” All-Star Nationals outfielder James Wood said, “the more kids will get back into baseball.”
Baseball has seen modest gains with Black baseball players
Take a look around the All-Star clubhouses and it was clear — while not at the pace perhaps MLB would like — Walker helped represent a new wave of emerging Black talent.
Three-time AL MVP and Yankees slugger Aaron Judge sat out with an injury, but Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams and outfielder Wood, Cincinnati Reds ace Chase Burns and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin ushered in the next, young group of future Black stars. The game also featured Minnesota Twins veteran Byron Buxton.
“I feel like there’s been like a little surge in getting more Black players in the game,” Wood said. “We’ve got four on our team right now. Last year at one point, we had five. I think you’re seeing it come back.”
MLB said that 6.8% of players on opening day rosters, injured lists and the restricted list were Black, up from 6.2% at the start of the 2025 season and 6.0% at the beginning of 2024. This year’s 0.6% increase was the most in a season since a 0.7% rise from 2017 to 2018.
Twenty of the 64 Black players had been in MLB-sponsored programs such as the MLB Youth Academy, Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series, Nike RBI and the Hank Aaron Invitational.
MLB said the total included 22 players 25 or younger and eight older than 32. The average age of Black players was 27.8 and the overall average 29.25.
The 23-year-old Burns, 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA with the Reds, was proud to hear Walker champion a Black youth movement at the Derby.
“You don’t see a lot of Black athletes in baseball,” Burns said. “I don’t know why that it is. I think it’s great for guys like me and him to strive to get Black athletes into the game of baseball, whether it’s talking about it or doing stuff in the community. I think it’s great he pointed it out.”
Walker hopes he can keep leading the way
The best chance, naturally, for Walker to serve as a role model for the next generation is to make sure he’s not just a one-Derby wonder.
Walker has 22 home runs, leads baseball with 74 RBIs and is a solid 13th with an .886 OPS — Wood is second at .985 — for a Cardinals team in the NL wild-card hunt. The Cardinals finally are getting the production expected out of the right fielder they drafted with their first-round pick in 2020.
Walker, who signed out of high school after he had committed to Duke, skipped Triple-A and made the opening day roster as the youngest player in baseball in 2023 and tied Eddie Murray’s under 21-rookie record with a 13-game hitting streak.
He was sent down later that season; was the 2024 opening day right fielder and demoted again with a .155 batting average. Walker suffered a variety of injuries in 2025 and played in just 111 games that suddenly put his future as a key Cardinals’ contributor very much in doubt.
Leaning on the same convictions that made him believe he could overtake the mighty Schwarber in the Derby championship round, Walker said a day after his win he never wavered in his belief that he would blossom into an everyday player and All-Star with the Cardinals.
He tinkered with his swing during an extend rehab assignment last season and the results were on full display in Philadelphia with 12 home runs in the final round.
“When my swing’s fluid and easy, that’s when it’s at it’s best,” Walker said. “That’s really what it is.”
Walker, who struck out in his lone at bat in the All-Star Game, earned a $1 million prize for winning the Derby, which is more than his 2026 salary of $799,400.
(Here’s a fun fact: Walker has 49 career homers off 49 different pitchers.)
As for the backward hat, “I call it the Griffey because no one did it better than him.”
No one did it better than Walker at the Derby.
He just hopes his win can be a launching pad for a next generation of Black athletes into the big leagues.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 10: Bryce Eldridge #8 of the San Francisco Giants is swarmed by teammates after a walk off grand slam at Oracle Park on June 10, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Remember May 1st? I don’t. But on that date, I wrote this about March & April:
The Giants were not a good baseball team, which doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be a bad baseball team going forward. Nobody wants to root for a bad team anyway.
That was the start of a post that looked at some of the fun/not fun stats from a bad first month of the season. Look at that language! Reader, I am an eternal pessimist, and the Giants have been so bad for so long (sorry, 2021 team!) that my default expectation for them is to come off more like a 100-loss team every season than a successful one, and it’s a belief that’s served me well. But sometimes, I have to pretend that We Can’t Predict Baseball just to conjure a thesis and compose an article about this increasingly putrid organization. This was one of those times.
And yet, here we are, midway through July, a hopeless 66 games ahead of us. There are plenty of numbers to look at to explain how we arrived at this bleak place, but in putting the post together, I was surprised to find one positive worth examining. So, let’s start there before getting into all the obviously bad stuff.
Hitting
I spent some time gushing about Luis Arraez yesterday as he’s the only plausible MVP case on the Giants’ roster here in 2026, but for the purposes of examining the team’s numbers from the first part of the season, it’s basically just Luis Arraez. He’s the 8th-most valuable player in Major League Baseball mainly because of his defense, yes, but his .330 batting average is second only to former Giant Otto Lopez (.334), the same 1-2 as the MLB Hits leaderboard (Lopez: 127, Arraez: 119); plus, his 4% strikeout rate is the lowest in the sport (Nico Hoerner is second with 7.9%). His 7 triples trail only Corbin Carroll. His 87 singles are #1 in MLB and he’s 20th in doubles.
While he probably won’t stay at 127 wRC+, I’ll take the opportunity to list all the Giants who’ve hit that or better since 2017 (min. 200 PA):
Buster Posey, 2017 (128 wRC+)
Mike Yastrzemski, 2020 (158)
Brandon Belt, 2021 (159)
Darin Ruf, 2021 (144)
Buster Posey, 2021 (141)
Brandon Crawford, 2021 (140)
Joc Pederson, 2022 (144)
Wilmer Flores, 2023 (134)
Tyler Fitzgerald, 2024 (132)
Rafael Devers wound up with a 135 wRC+ between the Red Sox and Giants, but specifically with the Giants he hit to a 126 wRC+. Yes, this is an arbitrary cutoff line, and it’s not as though Arraez is one of the top-top hitters (36th), but I declare this season of his to be fun!
Meanwhile, the Giants have scored the second-fewest runs in the National League (395 to San Diego’s 379). They have the sixth-lowest total in the sport just ahead of this weekend’s opponent, the Seattle Mariners (392).
The team’s walk rate has inched up to 6.7%. Still worst in the sport, but they have the sixth-best strikeout rate (20.6%), trailing the Cardinals (20.5%), Dodgers (20.3%), Diamondbacks (19.6%), Blue Jays (19.6%) and Rays (18.9%). And it’s not like they’re just hitting a bunch of singles. Their team ISO of .164 is 9th in MLB, 5th in the NL. The 106 homers is a mere 21st, but they’re tied for 1st with the Rockies in doubles (179) and tied for 2nd with the Diamondbacks in triples (21). Fun!
They’ve also managed to do okay avoiding the double play, with just 58 grounded into so far (14th in MLB). Knock out 2020 (51 GIDP), and these 2026 Giants are on pace for the fewest GIDPs by a Giants team since 2017. Last year, they hit into just 103, which is the fewest of the Oracle Park era when you remove 2020. The 2001 team is 2nd-best with 108. They’ve come a long way since Casey McGehee. Fun!
And after Willy Adames ended a decades-long drought of a 30-home run hitter in the lineup, the team looks like it could have two or (if Adames gets really hot in the final two months) even three 30-home run dudes in the lineup. Devers and Schmitt already have 19 and Adames has 15. It was at this exact point last season that he went on his tear, hitting .232/.335/.494 (.828 OPS) with 18 homers over his final 64 games. Fun!
Pitching
As I’ve said before, I tend to ignore Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement in favor of FanGraphs’ fWAR (since FanGraphs contributors are hired by MLB teams more frequently), but every so often, rWAR will stick out to me. For instance, the Giants have 16 pitchers with negative rWARs. Yes, among those are Christian Koss (-0.1) and Buddy Kennedy (-0.1) , but even taking them out of the picture leaves us with 14 pitchers, which I’d say is a lot.
Ryan Walker, -0.9 rWAR
Matt Gage, -0.4
Adrian Houser, -0.3
Tyler Mahle, -0.3
Trevor McDonald, -0.3
Carson Seymour, -0.3
Ryan Borucki, -0.2
Jose Butto, -0.2
Wilkin Ramos, -0.2
Caleb Kilian, -0.1
Tristan Beck, -0.1
Gregory Santos, -0.1
Reiver Sanmartin, -0.1
Spencer Bivens, -0.1
The total value is -3.8 wins above replacement. I’ll be that guy and do this: +4 wins for the Giants is 45-51. That would put them 6.5/7 games back of a Wild Card, sure, but it would’ve saved everyone a lot of embarrassment. Still, this is where the rWAR vs. fWAR is meaningful. I don’t think the Giants are four wins short because of the pitching staff. I think the negative values given to the position players or, like, Spencer Bivens is sort of not worth examining and I’m not sure that Houser, Mahle, and McDonald add up to -0.9 wins. That’s 1.2 rWAR right there.
For comparison, FanGraphs has only 6 pitchers with negative values: Matt Gage (-0.8 fwAR), Ryan Walker (-0.3), Reiver Sanmartin (-0.3), Jose Butto (-0.2), Ryan Borucki (-0.1), and Carson Seymour (-0.1). That’s about 2 wins lost to relief pitching, which would be 43-53 and seems a bit more correct if we’re just looking at which model can best help us diagnose the problem. The starting pitching has been top heavy (Landen Roupp @ +2.1 fWAR, Logan Webb @ 1.9), but the rest basically replacement level, and that feels more correct.
Having said that, the Baseball Reference numbers sent me to Stathead to conduct this search: how many teams in the San Francisco era have featured a sub-replacement pitching staff? The current Giants’ staff is at 2.2 rWAR, and maybe thanks to Logan Webb alone they might manage to stay in the positive, but I was curious. Unfortunately, the only two results that came up were 1996 (-2.3) and 1995 (-10.4). So, I expanded the scope a bit to see which teams had below 5 wins above replacement in value. That list was a bit more illustrative. 9 teams registered:
Just one winning team in the bunch and all pretty (in)famous teams to some degree. That 2020 might’ve been something had there been some good in the bullpen. That got corrected for 2021.
Now, contrast this with FanGraphs’ bottom 9 of the San Francisco era:
Okay, so, some actual agreement between the systems here. The four worst pitching staffs in San Francisco Giants history were in 1995, 2020, 1996, and 2026, with the only real controversy being 2020 vs. 1996. But at the end of the day, Zack & Buster’s Pitching Staff has been a top-5 worst of the San Francisco era. Fun!(?)
Fielding
The Giants wound up one of the worst fielding teams in the sport. They have the distinction of being “first worst,” as their -6 Outs Above Average (18th in MLB) trails Houston’s +0. They’re followed by an eclectic mix of teams — Nationals (-8), Rockies (-10), Pirates (-11), Rays (-11), Phillies (-15)… Tigers (-19), Twins (-19)… Mariners (-30; yes, they’re dead last) — so, maybe Outs Above Average isn’t the best measure? Or, defense hasn’t been the deciding factor in team success this year… unless you’re the Mariners?
They were particularly bad (-12) against left-handed batters, which makes sense because of (1) Oracle Park and (2) Jung Hoo Lee, who is -2 in right field but -6 in Fielding Run Value overall thanks to also being -2 in CF.
And, to be clear, it is the outfield that’s hurt them, especially in left field (-8, 29th in MLB). On the infield, they’re +5 Outs Above Average (13th in MLB), and even there, the number has been dragged down by Willy Adames (-12) and first base (-2).
Okay, I’ve taken a break from gushing about Luis Arraez, but now it’s back to the gushing. His +10 Outs Above Average is 6th-best in the sport of any position. He’s 11th in terms of Fielding Run Value, which Statcast defines:
Fielding Run Value is Statcast’s metric for capturing a player’s measurable defensive performance by converting all of Statcast’s individual defensive metrics from different scales onto the same run-based scale, which can then be read as a player being worth X runs above or Y runs below average. Currently, the conversions for those metrics are as follows. (Unless otherwise noted, all metrics are available since 2016.)
How to read it: In 2024, Andrés Giménez had a Fielding Run Value of +17 runs, which came from 14 runs on range and 3 runs via his involvement in double plays, making him the most valuable defender in baseball among non-catchers that season.
Matt Chapman still checks in 40th on the Fielding Run Value list at +5. His +4 Outs Above Average ranks 55th.
Regrettably, Willy Adames is in the bottom 3 of Outs Above Average (-11), behind Junior Caminero (-13) and CJ Abrams (-11). Moving Adames off of shortstop as soon as they trade Luis Arraez is probably the move, even if doing something like that in-season is tricky/inadvisable.
And the less said about Heliot Ramos’s defense (-2 Outs Above Average & -3.6 Defensive Runs Above Average in 58 games), the better. Yikes. He’ll need to hit like he did in 2024 — 20% better than the league average — to be a valuable player. Fun!(?)
It hasn’t gone well and what’s a little amusing about the whole situation is that it was entirely predictable. Sometimes, it’s fun to predict outcomes and be right, regardless of if it’s a positive or negative outcome. But bad bullpens are really hard to watch. And the team’s continuing inability to develop pitching prospects at a useful rate has really added insult to injury. Oh well.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 14: Chase Burns #26 of the Cincinnati Reds walks the carpet during the 2026 All-Star Red Carpet Show presented by Mastercard at Independence Mall on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds may technically be on the All Star break, but that didn’t stop them from making one of the most important decisions of the franchise’s history. On Thursday afternoon, ESPN’s Jeff Passan announced that the club and rising ace Chase Burns have agreed to a massive 7-year, $105 contract that cements his status as one of the franchise’s cornerstones.
Right-hander Chase Burns and the Cincinnati Reds are in agreement on a seven-year, $105 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Burns, 23, was an All-Star this season and one of the best young pitchers in baseball. No club options. A straight deal that will run through 2033.
As MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand noted, it’s the largest contract every given to a pitcher with so little service time, and the deal includes no further options (nor deferrals). It also ties the total amount the Reds once guaranteed to pitcher Homer Bailey, and that’s the last time I’d like to use that name in reference to Burns going forward.
Reds P Chase Burns has agreed to a 7-year, $105M extension, per source. The deal, which includes no options or deferrals, is the largest guarantee given to a pitcher with less than 4 years of service and ties the largest guarantee given to a pitcher in Reds history (Homer Bailey)
It’s a massive commitment from a franchise that, to date, had been weary of making commitments to any of their players long-term. Hunter Greene was signed to a contract similar to that of Burns, albeit having done so fresh off of Tommy John surgery and with it including club options that were a hedge for the club. Jose Trevino picked up a small extension after being acquired just last season, but that was just about it for the club’s accounting ledger beyond what they doled out on 1-year deals in 2026 and their arbitration-controlled core.
Now, they know exactly what they’ve got on-payroll with their duel aces for the foreseeable future, and that’s a pair around whom every team in the sport would want to build.
Less than a month ago, the Red Sox were a complete afterthought to the MLB season at large. Sitting in dead last in the American League at 14 games under .500, all anybody in Boston could talk about was when Craig Breslow would be fired and how many veteran pieces would be sold off at the inevitable trade deadline firesale.
Yet as you know, things changed in a hurry. The four-game sweep of the Yankees was followed by a series loss to the lowly Nationals, so eyebrows were barely raised regarding the possibility of a real Red Sox run. But three straight road sweeps over the Angels, White Sox and Mets changed the scope of the entire season.
Or did it?
We can’t really tell. Perhaps we’re too close to … everything surrounding this team.
So, in an effort to understand what the rest of the baseball world might think of the Red Sox, here’s a look at all of the MLB power rankings from the All-Star break to see where Boston stands after winning 14 of 16 games heading into the break.
“Maybe the Red Sox don’t turn out to be sellers,” wrote D.J. Short, “but they probably won’t be big buyers either as they wait for some of their big names (Garrett Crochet, Roman Anthony among them) to return.”
Jordan Shusterman wrote that the All-Star break was “something of a vibe-killer” for the Red Sox, who are “on the doorstep of a wild-card spot — a shocking reality considering how bad things were going early on.”
ESPN didn’t have a straight numerical ranking, instead grouping the Red Sox with teams 15-21. ESPN placed a projected final record of 82-80 on the Red Sox, giving them 51 percent playoff odds (and 1.9 percent championship odds).
“The Red Sox should hang around the playoff picture because the roster remains talented even without the two stars [Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony] and the AL remains pedestrian,” wrote Jorge Castillo. “It’s been a remarkable turnaround. The industry expected Boston to trade off players over the next couple of weeks just a few days ago. Now Breslow could increase the team’s postseason chances by adding big league talent by the Aug. 3 deadline. A postseason spot is there for the taking and Boston should do everything possible to snatch one.”
“Jake Bennett reeling off four consecutive quality starts has also provided an unforeseeable boost,” wrote Kerry Miller. “Can they get healthy in the second half and complete the improbable comeback from a 32-46 start?”
The highest ranking of them all, FanGraphs included a caveat that its Elo system is “very reactive to recent performance.” So the 14-2 record heading into the break likely skewed some numbers.
“Since the beginning of June, only the Tigers have allowed fewer runs than the Red Sox,” Jake Mailhot wrote. “Just a few weeks ago, Boston looked like an obvious seller, but now it’s not so certain. … If the Red Sox can manage to tread water over the next month, the returns of Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony could give them a big boost down the stretch.”
Average ranking: 16th
Ultimately, the team that’s two games under .500 ranks in the middle of the pack in Major League Baseball. That’s about right.
Clearly, the reality of the past few weeks is undeniable, but everybody (outside of FanGraphs’ model) remains a bit cautious about jumping the gun and declaring the Red Sox a legitimate contender in a very weak American League. How the Red Sox handle their 10-game homestand coming out of the break will go a long way in determining the outlook for the short term and the much longer term as well.
BOSTON - AUGUST 12: Ailing NESN Red Sox color commentator Jerry Remy was in the booth with Don Orsillo and Dennis Eckersley during the top of the second inning of tonight's Red Sox game against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. Here he acknowledges the cheers of the crowd below. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
Like Elaine Benes trying to become a submarine captain, I spent much of my winter eating a lot of bad sandwiches watching a lot of old NESN footage to uncover some gems from past broadcasts. I wanted the Pokey Leap from 2004, but also found That Catch Coco Made. And that wasn’t all. There were a few more things in the archives I want to share.
With the Red Sox off for the All-Star break what is even on NESN? Here was yesterday’s schedule:
I guess the big feature is Boston’s Entered the Chat. And a rerun of a game from 2005. Actually, that’s kinda fun, I was at that game. In addition to a Trot inside-the-parker, it was started by David Wells! Remember The Wells era?
But there used to be more. The mid-2000s were peak NESN custom programming. Think Sox Appeal. Well maybe not that. But think The Remys. Or documentaries. I’ve found NESN to be really hit or miss over the years. Does anyone watch the restaurant show? Or even their talk show? I honestly don’t know. But maybe people should and it will encourage more weird and wonderful stuff like the Spaceman piece. That was even released on DVD!
Or what about a musical number?
You’ve heard of Go Cubs Go? What about Go Red Sox!
It’s no Dirty Water or Tessie but honestly what is?
This might have been hit with a cease & desist for copyright infringement, but hopefully is still up and playing. It’s weird and I didn’t remember it at all when it came on during a game.
How about a goofy PSA with Big Papi and the mayor? Actually this is something we do see, if not as ads but over social media. There is something about Menino and Ortiz though. Maybe it’s all nostalgia, but the ad is just weird. And he gave us the “rolling rally” so who can ever forget Menino when he is the guy who created the Duck Boat parade we’ve enjoyed so many times?
The All-Star Game had a whole segment about baseball and nostalgia. Pedro’s on the mound. Baseball isn’t gone. It’s still here. And NESN is still around. But there is something missing from the time when NESN really did take some bigger swings at content. The Dave O’Brien or the Middlebrooks awards? Maybe it’s time to try again. Maybe that time will come when Payton Tolle has retired many, many years from now and is a broadcaster.
If you could get a show on the air at NESN what would it be? A special? A game show? Red Sox themed Bob Ross-style painting?
Jul 6, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) warming up before the game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
When MLB decided to feature Phillies vs. Mets as the featured second half opening night game, they probably thought they be featuring two teams vying for control of the National League East. I suppose in baseball, a .500 batting average is pretty good.
It’s possible that the Mets have a miracle run in them and can get back into playoff position, but historically, the miracle runs have gone against the Mets, not for them. They are basically reduced to spoilers for the other teams contending for the division lead, and the Phillies would do well to make sure that they aren’t the team that gets spoiled.
Opposition research: Francisco Lindor
At least the Phillies aren’t the only team whose highly paid would-be star shortstop is struggling. One of the reasons the Mets have had such a disastrous season is because one of their franchise players is having a disastrous season. (Although he’s certainly not alone!)
Francisco Lindor’s bad year started in February when he required surgery on his hamate bone. While he was able to return for the start of the season, hamate injuries tend to produce lingering detrimental effects on a player’s ability to hit. Sure enough, Lindor got off to a poor start to the season, and had a .669 OPS with two home runs at the end of April when he suffered his second major injury of the year.
Juan Soto returns from a calf injury…
And then Francisco Lindor left the game with “calf tightness”.
The calf injury required a two month stay on the Injured List. If the Mets hoped that his return would provide a spark to the team, that has yet to materialize. Since returning on June 24, Lindor has a .673 OPS.
Worse, the former defensive standout hasn’t even been good in the field. He’s made multiple errors, including this one that cost the Mets a game:
Here’s the brutal error from Mets SS Francisco Lindor, one of the key reasons to the blown 2-0 lead.
It’s gotten so bad that many Mets fans are speculating what Lindor could fetch in a trade. Perhaps they’d like to do a one-for-one swap of shortstops with the Phillies?
Hating on the Mets
In 2023, my series previews compared the Phillies’ opponents to villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I really nailed it when I compared the Mets to Justin Hammer: Rich, but ultimately more of a threat to themselves than others.
It’s hilarious that the Mets spend all that money and have ended up with a team that ranks 23rd in runs scored and 18th in ERA. It’s gotten so bad that some Mets fans are openly wishing the team had matched the contract the Orioles gave to Pete Alonso.
Alonso is having a solid year in Baltimore but:
How much of a difference would Alonso have made?
The road to Hell is paved with expensive contracts given to aging, big-bodied first basemen.
Many of those same fans thought Alonso epitomized the team’s underperformance in recent years and couldn’t wait for him to leave.
This is peak hypocrisy.
The same people calling Lindor washed at 32 completely ignored those exact same red flags with Pete Alonso yet cried bloody murder that the Mets had to keep him because “he’s a Met for life.”
Last week’s answer: The losing pitcher in the first ever Phillies vs. Tigers game was former first round pick Tyler Green. SLDH was correct.
This week’s question: On April 10, 2017, what future Phillie had two home runs in a game to lead the Mets to a 4-3 at Citizens Bank Park?
Non-Phillies thought
Tuesday re-iterated that people hate “nostalgia porn” unless it happens to be things that they are personally nostalgic for. In that case, they think it’s amazing.
I’ve never seen The Sandlot, so the fifth inning fireworks/Ray Charles thing felt cheesy to me. Most of the players didn’t seem to know what they were supposed to be doing, and a few of the guys holding sparklers had a “WTF are we doing?” look on their faces. (Also, nostalgia for The Sandlot is weird, because the movie was nostalgia to begin with, so basically millennials are feeling nostalgia for a time they never actually experienced.)
During the MLB All-Star Game, they recreated the iconic Fourth of July scene from The Sandlot.
Ray Charles’ “America the Beautiful” played, kids rode bikes onto the field, fireworks went off, one of the coolest things baseball has done in a long time. pic.twitter.com/ObLhMeHekY
— Dudes Posting Their W’s (@DudespostingWs) July 15, 2026
But if you enjoyed it, great! I’m glad you were entertained by something during that snooze fest of a game.
Additional thought about the series
The Phillies have decided to give both Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler additional rest (and maybe to have them face the Dodgers), so the Mets might actually have the starting pitching advantage this series. On Thursday, Aaron Nola faces Christian Scott. Saturday has Jesus Luzardo against Sean Manaea (the one clear advantage for the Phillies), and Sunday will feature Alan Rangel vs. Nolan McLean.
There are other reasons to think this series might be a bit tricky for the Phillies: Recent editions have stumbled out of the break, and with series against the Dodgers and Yankees up next, I could see them looking past the Mets a bit. On the other hand, I thought the Phillies would sleepwalk through their final series before the break, and they ended that one by knocking around Tarik Skubal.
In other words, baseball is tough to predict. On to the second half!
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - JULY 09: Paul Blackburn #58 of the New York Yankees reacts following the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on July 09, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees starred in one of the most drab All-Star Games in recent memory, Cody Bellinger picking up MVP honors for his two-run single in the first while Ben Rice also drove in a run. It means we are just a day away from the second half kicking off, the Yankees starting a pivotal stretch of 66 games with a marquee series against the two-time defending champion Dodgers. Before we get to that, let’s take one last look back with our final Sequence of the Week of the first half, and Paul Blackburn’s first appearance in this series.
We join Blackburn with one out in the bottom of the eighth on Sunday, the Yankees five outs away from what looked at many points during the series like an improbable sweep of the Nationals. The late heroics by the offense was the story of that series, achieving three straight comebacks in the eighth inning or later to sweep a series for the first time since they were the Highlanders sweeping the Cleveland Naps in 1910. The bullpen is light a few arms, particularly as closer David Bendar had pitched three innings to secure saves in the previous two wins, so it’s more than likely that Blackburn will be asked to record the final six outs of this one-run game. He has already retired Curtis Mead on a popup to open the frame, the lefty already having tied the game with a pinch-hit solo home run off Tim Hill in the sixth. That brings the ever-dangerous two-time All-Star CJ Abrams to the plate, the lefty shortstop in the midst of a breakout campaign with 20 home runs before the break.
Abrams has done the lion’s share of his damage against the fastball, so it is no surprise to see Blackburn start this AB off with a curveball.
Ali Sánchez sets a target in the zone, encouraging Blackburn to make this pitch look like a strike out of the hand to fool the hitter into swinging at a pitch that will break below the zone. Blackburn achieves both objectives, making Abrams think it’s an elevated fastball, resulting in a swing that is almost a foot over the top of a pitch that pretty much ends up in the dirt.
After tricking the hitter so effectively, it’s only logical that Blackburn attempt to replicate his execution of the pitch until Abrams shows he can adjust.
Blackburn executes this pitch to a similar spot as the first one. However, it is apparent that Abrams is already beginning to make the necessary adjustment to the curve. You can see the way he delays his swing, getting his front foot down later to match the timing of the slower curve, and he drops the bat head more in anticipation of the downward break, allowing him to ground it foul.
Blackburn has two choices here following that swing. It’s clear Abrams is now hunting the curveball, so you either throw the pitch he is looking for but in an unhittable location, or you throw a different pitch type down the same tunnel to deceive the hitter into thinking it’s another curveball — think an elevated heater with the same high aiming point as those last two curveballs.
Blackburn opts for the former option, bouncing a curveball on top of home plate to see if he can get Abrams to chase for a third straight time. Abrams displays excellent pitch recognition to take this curveball given it looked like it was traveling right down the middle out of Blackburn’s hand.
Despite not getting the chase he was looking for, Blackburn opts to throw a fourth straight curveball.
The dangerous part of throwing so many breaking balls in a row is that each subsequent one needs to be a little better than the one before it to nullify the adjustment the hitter is making with repeated exposure to the pitch. Alternatively, you could try to sneak one to a location where the hitter isn’t expecting it, Blackburn attempting to back-door one for a called strike three. After seeing three straight curveballs over the plate but below the zone, Abrams is indeed fooled by this curve commanded to the corner up and away, and he’s just able to get off an emergency hack to foul off the pitch and stay alive.
After four straight curveballs, Blackburn finally picks his spot to switch things up with a changeup.
Even though he didn’t get the chase he was after, I love this pitch selection by Blackburn. It shows Abrams a secondary offering with less downward break than the curveball and a pitch that breaks away from the batter rather than toward him, meaning Abrams now can no longer automatically eliminate any pitch that starts out aimed in the region from up-and-in to middle-middle
Indeed, that changeup functioned as purely a setup pitch to boost the chase potential of the curveball.
Blackburn throws his fifth curveball of the encounter, and it is by far the best one he has thrown. It looks like a strike right down Broadway before dropping almost five feet during its path toward home, Abrams unable to check his swing in time on a pitch that lands in the dirt.
Here’s the full sequence:
I love the savvy Blackburn displayed against such a dangerous hitter. He clearly read the scouting report on Abrams’ propensity to crush the fastball, so he stuck with his two most platoon-neutral offerings in the curveball and changeup. It also helps that those two pitches have been his most effective weapons this season, the changeup holding hitters to a .105 average and .184 SLG against while the curveball has been even stingier, opponents batting just .087 and slugging .087 against the Uncle Charlie. The curveballs he threw in this encounter in particular make me excited to see him use the pitch more — in addition to his excellent command of the pitch to chase areas below the zone, it’s objectively one of the best curveballs in baseball. It sports the third-most downward drop vs. average of any curveball in MLB, allowing it to rack up a 45-percent whiff rate, 39.1-percent chase rate, and 37.1-percent put-away rate — all top-15 marks among all MLB curveballs.
It is no exaggeration to say that Blackburn has been one of the most effective pitchers in baseball over the last two months. He has pitched to the lowest ERA (1.16) in MLB since his May 16th appearance against the Mets among all pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched over that span. He has become Aaron Boone’s Swiss Army knife relief ace not dissimilar to the role Luke Weaver played in his first season with the team, though they profile very differently in terms of arsenal and pitching philosophy. My college John was one of the first people on staff to pick up on Blackburn’s surging form back in the beginning of June, and his words have proven prescient, Blackburn developing into one of the team’s most reliable relievers capable of pitching in a variety of roles.
Pictured above is Rob Dibble, White Sox reliever, caught in a brief moment between temper tantrums, off-color comments and blind rages. | (Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images)
1920 With the White Sox down to their last two outs in the ninth, trailing the Senators, 5-4, Joe Jackson capped a rally by hitting an inside-the-park grand slam past (or over) Washington center fielder Sam Rice. That score, 8-5, would hold up as a winner for the White Sox.
It was at least the sixth grand slam in White Sox history (definitive records go back only to the 1912 season), and strangely the previous two (Happy Felsch, 1916, and Eddie Collins, 1919) both broke open tie games late. Four of the six grand slams were inside-the-park.
Jackson would had a second (and final) grand slam on Sept. 11, 1920, a deep blast well out of Comiskey Park, in one of the last games of his career.
1980 Bill Veeck’s ownership syndicate accepted offers to buy the White Sox. Sox broadcaster Harry Caray was one of those expressing interest, along with millionaire Edward DeBartolo Sr. Veeck would accept DeBartolo’s offer a month later, but the deal would get nixed twice by commissioner Bowie Kuhn and the other owners. Veeckeventually sold the club to Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn in January 1981.
1990 It was one of the funniest moments in White Sox history, as utility player Steve “Psycho” Lyons made a mistake that wound up on every highlight show in the nation. In the fifth inning at Detroit, Lyonsbunted his way on, with a diving slide at first base to beat the throw. He then called time and completely blanked out as he started to drop his pants to get the dirt out of them. (Fortunately, he was wearing sliding shorts.) When he realized what he was doing, Lyons quickly yanked his pants back up and turned beet red with embarrassment.
After Lyons was forced at second base later in the inning and ran back to the dugout, female fans in the first few rows behind the Sox bench, among the 14,770 at Tiger Stadium that night, began waving dollar bills at him.
1992 With two singles in a 5-4 win over Milwaukee in 12 innings, Lance Johnson began what would become a 25-game hitting streak — at the time the third-longest in White Sox history (remaining fifth-best today).
Over the course of the streak, the White Sox went 15-10, as One Dog sprayed 43 hits (39 singles, a double and three triples) and swiped 16-of-19 bags, slashing .439/.477/.510. The amazing streak ran his batting average from .261 to .305 — no small feat 100 games into the season!
Johnson finished 1992 at a downright pedestrian .279/.318/.363, so slumps were forthcoming after this fiery run. However, taking into account his stellar defense, his final value for the season was a career-best 3.8, almost a win better than his previous best and setting the stage for a miraculously good 1993 season.
1995 The Rob Dibble experiment ended with the White Sox waiving the mercurial reliever. Dibble signed with the White Sox in 1995 after six years with Cincinnati, interrupted by a broken forearm in 1993 and rotator cuff surgery in 1994. He saw action in just 16 games with Chicago, pitching to a 6.28 ERA and 2.372 WHIP, for -0.2 WAR. He was suspended by the team at least once (criticizing 1995’s replacement players), and ironically at the end of July was picked up by the same Brewers team he threw at on June 29, getting ejected after just one pitch.
Dibble’s locker neighbor for the 15-game stint in Milwaukee that would mark the end of his career? The player he threw at back in June, Pat Listach.
2000 The astounding rise of 36th round draft pick Mark Buehrle was made complete on this day, when the southpaw was called up from Double-A Birmingham after just 36 career games in the minors (and 16 with the Barons). Buehrle was inserted into the ninth inning of an 11-5 win over the Brewers in Chicago.
Buehrle struck out the first batter he faced, José Hernández, and got a second quick out before Milwaukee touched him for a short rally and a run. Buehrle would start his next three games, then work out of the pen to finish the season. From 2001-on, Buehrle’s next 490 games in the majors were all starts, as he ran up 59.1 WAR in a career worthy of the Hall of Fame. He finished his career with 48.9 WAR with the White Sox, seventh-highest total for a pitcher in club history.
Commemorating that and more, in 2025 the White Sox placed a statue of Buerhle on the concourse at Sox Park.
2003 As the designated hitter for the St. Paul Saints (owned by Mike Veeck), Minnie Miñoso became the first player to be active in professional baseball for seven decades. Miñoso drew a walk in his only plate appearance, in independent Northern League play, at age 77.
2013 Chris Sale got the win, as the AL beat the NL, 3-0, at the All-Star Game from Citi Field in New York. Sale pitched the second and third innings, facing the minimum six batters and recording two strikeouts. His strikeout victims were Carlos González and Troy Tulowitzki. He got credit for the win when the AL took the lead and scored eventual winning run in the top of the fourth inning, when he was still the pitcher of record.
Those changes to the format didn't impress viewers at all. Last year's derby, which was broadcast on ESPN/ESPN2, was seen by 5.7 million and drew 5.5 million in 2024.
In 2003, the event on ESPN was watched by 5.2 million people.
For the next two years, if fans want to watch the Home Run Derby, they will again have to watch it on Netflix, as the streaming service paid $50 million a year to broadcast the event for three years.
Fayetteville infielder Xavier Neyens (9) throws the ball during opening day of the Augusta GreenJackets at SRP Park in North Augusta, S.C., on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. The GreenJackets beat Fayetteville 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale - Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY NETWORK | Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Here are some prospects who have stood out so far in the first half of the season!
Jason Schiavone – Schiavone has put together a breakout season. The 23-year-old catcher got off to a hot start in Asheville hitting .289 with 17 home runs in 35 games. He earned a promotion to Double-A where he’s hit 6 more home runs. Overall, he has a .996 OPS with 23 home runs and 21 stolen bases in 77 games. He’s also thrown out 50% of base stealers in Corpus Christi.
Drew Brutcher – Brutcher was signed by the Astros in March of 2025 after he went undrafted in 2024. The left-handed hitter has had a big year starting in Asheville where he hit .266 over 33 games. He was promoted to Double-A where his bat exploded as he hit .350 with 10 doubles, 4 home runs in 29 games. He’s hitting .304 overall this season.
Pascanel Ferreras– Ferreras was Mr. Irrelevant in the 2023 draft, but he’s been extremely relevant this season. He started in Double-A and hit .263 with 3 home runs and then was promoted to Sugar Land where he took off. In Triple-A, Ferreras has hit .366 with 11 doubles, 2 home runs and 27 RBI. He’s hitting .318 in 61 games this season.
Xavier Neyens – Neyens was the Astros first round pick in 2025 and he’s been as advertised in the early going. The 19-year-old has connected on 14 home runs and drawn 79 walks in 68 games, good for a 25.9% walk rate, this season in Fayetteville. He’s also added 16 stolen bases and was recently promoted to High-A Asheville. More on him here.
Anthony Huezo – Huezo was a 12th round pick by the Astros in 2023 and after having a mini breakout in 2025, he’s really performed well this season. In 71 games in Single-A, Huezo has connected on a system leading 20 doubles and 4 triples while also adding 14 home runs and 30 stolen bases. He just got promoted to High-A.
Justin Thomas – Another pick from the 2025 draft, Thomas was an 11th round selection. For High-A Asheville this year, the 22-year-old is hitting .263 with 16 doubles, 12 home runs and 24 stolen bases. He’s also collected 57 walks and has a .880 OPS through 72 games this season.
Will Bush – Bush has spent time at catcher and first base this season and got off to a nice start posting a .883 OPS in April. He slowed down with an injury but turned it on recently and now the 22-year-old has 10 home runs and a .855 OPS through 56 games in Double-A this season.
Javier Perez – Perez had a mini breakout in 2025 and this year he has been phenomenal for the Woodpeckers. He leads the system in innings with 76.2 innings and 89 strikeouts while posting a 3.17 ERA. He’s shown off exceptional command as well walking just 13 batters, good for a 1.5 BB/9.
Cole Hertzler – Hertzler dealt with a few injuries early in his career but is healthy in 2026 and showing why he was a 5th round pick in 2024. The right-hander started in Asheville and had a 2.72 ERA over 10 starts. He was promoted to Corpus Christi where he has a 2.97 ERA over 5 starts. He’s also allowed just 34 hits in 62.1 innings.
Jagger Beck – Beck was signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 draft. The 19-year-old is having a breakout season so far posting a 2.91 ERA while striking out 62 batters over 52.2 innings. He’s also posted a 2.04 ERA across 10 games since May 5th. Strong season for the big right-hander. More on him here.
Nick Potter– Potter was a 5th round pick for the Astros in 2025 and while he was a closer in college, the Astros have moved him to starter with good results. So far this season, the right-hander has posted a 2.19 ERA while striking out 55 batters over 49.1 innings. He should be in High-A soon. More on him here.
ARLINGTON, TX - MAY 29: Eric Cerantola #61 of the Kansas City Royals pitches during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Friday, May 29, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tenley Wright/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants made a mild-mannered move over the All-Star break, quietly waiving right-handed reliever Eric Cerantola and outrighting him to AAA Sacramento. Cerantola, a fifth-round pick by the Kansas City Royals in 2021 who made his MLB debut earlier this year, had been claimed off of waivers earlier this month when Kansas City designated him for assignment. He appeared in two games for Sacramento before being waived, but, after being outrighted, he’ll surely appear in more.
It’s an odd move in that it brings the Giants 40-man roster down to 39 names, which is where it’s been for much of the season. Then again, perhaps the Giants figured that the All-Star break is the perfect time to sneak a player through waivers, since no teams are playing and thus incurring injuries and holes on the roster.
In other transaction news, outfielder Trevor Cohen — the organization’s third-round pick in the 2025 draft — is apparently joining teammates Gavin Kilen (their first-round pick in 2025) and Dakota Jordan (their fourth-round pick in 2024) in getting promoted from High-A Eugene to AA Richmond. They’re all scheduled to be with the Flying Squirrels when the Minor League season resumes tomorrow.
And in less happy transaction news, the Giants quietly released left-handed pitcher Juan Sánchez a few days ago. Sánchez nearly broke camp with the team after a stellar Spring Training in 2024, but has struggled with both injuries and performance since.
Jul 5, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe (5) reacts while rounding the bases after hitting a home run against the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
The Pirates went from one of the worst offenses in the game last year to having the most runs scored at the All-Star break. That’s a massive upgrade from last year and a big reason because of that is the power.
In 2025 Pittsburgh finished last in numerous categories, including in runs scored (583), RBI (561), home runs (117), slugging percentage (.350) and OPS (.655).
A lot of those numbers have been increased this year, like home runs with 125. They rank amongst the best in the other categories, such as first in RBI and hits. The Bucs are also second in OPS and third in slugging percentage.
Pittsburgh already having eight more home runs than they did last year is a big reason why they are 50-47 and in the wild card playoff race. The Pirates are able to help out their pitching depth this year which is something they were not able to do last year.
The Pirates adding players like Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’hearn has been a huge reason as to why their offense has been such an improvement. Lowe leads the team with home runs (20) and in RBIs (64). While O’hearn has 16 home runs and 63 RBIs which are both second on the team.
The Pirates become just the second team in league history that went from scoring the least amount runs in one season and then leading the league in runs the following season. The St. Louis Cardinals did so, going from worst in 1986 to first in 1987, where they made the World Series.
What has made this first half really impressive is that the Pirates are putting up these numbers with some important injuries. The players being center fielder Oneil Cruz, first baseman Spencer Horwitz, rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin and catcher Endy Rodrguez, all of whom have been great themselves.
Rookie Esmerlyn Valdez has been helping the offense a lot with 10 home runs in 27 games. Other players have stepped up as well, making this a top and formidable lineup in baseball.
If the Bucs want to stay in the race and snap their decade long playoff drought, the offense will need to continue to keep that pace.
DETROIT, MI - JULY 11: Trea Turner #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws to first base during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Saturday, July 11, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Izzy Rincon/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
All-Star week in Philadelphia has come and gone, which means it’s time to prepare for the unofficial second half of the season. The Phillies had a good first half considering they experienced a ten-game losing streak and fired their manager in April. They come into their second half opening series with the New York Mets two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East with a record of 54-43. They currently occupy the second NL Wild Card spot and have a three-game lead for a spot in the postseason field. There is work to be done, but the Phillies have placed themselves right in the thick of the NL postseason picture.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t glaring weaknesses in this Phillies team though. The upcoming trade deadline will be the biggest chance to improve the roster, but thanks to the Phillies limited trade capital, they will also have to look inward for improvements. There’s no shortage of underperformers on the roster, but these are three that could make a real impact if they find a way to improve.
Trea Turner
Turner was one of the Phillies best players in 2025 when he won the batting title and dramatically improved his defense resulting in a 5.4 WAR season. He has regressed heavily in each aspect, as he’s hitting .236 and has the fifth most errors (12) of any shortstop in baseball which has resulted in a negative WAR total. His strikeout rate has spiked, up to 22.2% from 16.7% last season. His chase rate is back up in conjunction with that, up over 35% after cutting it down to 31.2% last season.
Defensively, Turner has lost all of the gains he made last season. He already has more errors than he had all of last season (8) and is on pace to come close to his brutal 2023 season when he led the majors with 23 errors. It’s even worse if you go by defensive metrics, as his -9 defensive runs saved are tied for second worst in baseball and his -6 defensive run value is fourth worst.
The good news is that Turner has begun to show a pulse offensively for the better part of the last month. Since June 15th, Turner is hitting .286 with a .759 OPS across 106 plate appearances. He started off July well but is currently 1 for his last 13 entering the break. The Phillies need Turner to rediscover some of what made him a batting champion in 2025, because it’s beginning to look like his strong defensive season last year may be an aberration.
José Alvarado
Alvarado looked to be having a renaissance in 2025 before a PED suspension and injuries completely derailed his season. The Phillies elected to pick up his club option for 2026 anyway, believing that he would rebound after a full offseason reset. That decision is not looking wise, as Alvarado is in the midst of the worst season of his career with a 6.82 ERA through 39 games. Opponents are currently slashing .307/.394/.464 against Alvarado. Yordan Alvarez and Yandy Díaz are the only qualified hitters with at least that slash line overall this season.
Despite a walk rate of 8.7% that is right around league average, Alvarado has struggled to throw strikes consistently. The in-zone rates of his two best pitches in the sinker and cutter are both down from his previous few seasons, with the sinker seeing a dramatic drop from three straight seasons over 60% to 53.3% in 2026. Opponents are also not swinging and missing at the cutter at the same rate as they have in years past while they are demolishing the sinker to the tune of a .342 AVG and .481 SLG.
However, there are signs that at least some of Alvarado’s struggles have been due to bad luck and, perhaps more astutely, poor defense. His 11.7 hits per nine is tied for the worst among all relievers with at least 30 IP and it would be the second worst among all pitchers if Alvarado qualified. His .440 batting average on balls in play is the highest in baseball and would be by far the highest in MLB history for a full season, surpassing the .364 BABIP Kevin Gausman posted in 2022. Alvarado’s FIP of 3.25 being almost half of his 6.82 ERA is the biggest evidence that he’s been victimized by the Phillies poor infield defense.
Where the ball goes when hitters make contact is largely outside of his control, but Alvarado can still control the part of his struggles that includes throwing more strikes and limiting contact. He has roughly over two weeks to find some way to improve before the Phillies will be forced to acquire a different left-handed reliever at the deadline.
Aaron Nola
This may seem to be the most obvious one of all and yet the one most people believe has the least chance of actually happening. Nevertheless, the Phillies are in desperate need of back of the rotation pitching and Aaron Nola isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so the easiest path forward would be for Nola to occupy that role. It is much easier said than done of course, as Nola is having yet another nightmare season with a 3-6 record and a 5.76 ERA through 19 starts. His 20 home runs allowed are the third most in baseball despite Nola only logging 97 innings pitched. For context, Bert Blyleven holds the dubious MLB record of allowing the most home runs in a season with 50, but he did it in 271.2 innings. Nola is currently on pace to approach that despite being projected to throw under 200 innings. All of this has been the continuation of a trend of him being one of the worst qualified starting pitchers in baseball.
Nola has shown some signs recently that he may have gained some sort of footing, as in his last two starts, he’s thrown 5 IP with 2 runs and 7 IP with 3 runs allowed. Of course, those two starts were following one of the worst starts of Nola’s career when he blew a 5-0 lead and allowed 8 runs in 4.1 IP. The Phillies don’t need Nola to be an ace or even a mid-rotation starter at this point. What they need him to be is an innings eater that keeps you in games and saves the bullpen. The contract is likely going to go down as a net negative, but that doesn’t mean that the Phillies and Nola can’t salvage some value out of it.
The Phillies are 40-14 in games started by Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, and Jesús Luzardo. They are 14-29 in games started by anyone else, including 9-10 in games started by Nola. They are 5-21 in games started by the fifth spot in the rotation that has been a smorgasbord of Andrew Painter, Taijuan Walker, Alan Rangel, and openers. Nola is no longer the same pitcher he was when he signed his seven year, $112M contract and is certainly no longer the pitcher that placed in the top 11 of Cy Young voting four times. But it would be a boon to the Phillies if he can stabilize himself as a quality back of the rotation starter as it would remove one of the question marks from the rotation.
Apr 21, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays out fielder Jake Fraley (17) strikes out during the second inning against Cincinnati Reds at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images | Pablo Robles-Imagn Images
Sitting in position for a postseason spot, the Tampa Bay Rays will look to supplement their roster at the trade deadline. Of course, they’ll do some buying and selling, but at the major league level they will primarily be buyers. The moves they make will be determined by a few key things early this month.
What does OF Jake Fraley look like in his return from the IL?
Fraley is a steady veteran who owns a career 110 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. While this isn’t an outlier level of production, it does represent a meaningful improvement over Victor Mesa Jr. (career 83 wRC+ vs RHP) and Chandler Simpson (career 94 wRC+ vs RHP). However, his lengthy injury history makes it difficult to count on that production over the final two months – especially when considering he was recently removed from his rehab assignment.
Should Fraley give the Rays a reason to explore other left-handed outfield options, they would first look internally. Jacob Melton was a major acquisition this winter, but unfortunately he got hurt in late April and missed a large chunk of the season. He’s unproven at the major league level so there’s some risk. However, his near 70-grade power, plus speed, and plus defense at all three outfield spots gives him significant upside. Melton’s underlying data have taken a real step forwards this season so he may be ready for a role in the majors.
If the Rays decide to take a conservative approach and keep Melton in AAA, there are plenty of affordable left-handed outfielders. I’ve already written about Lars Nootbaar, but here are a couple more names:
MIN OF Matt Wallner (career 137 wRC+ vs RHP); recent struggles may have lowered the acquisiton cost
COL OF Troy Johnston (career 137 wRC+ vs RHP); plus hitter but comes with defensive questions
MIN INF/OF Kody Clemens (career 96 wRC+ vs RHP); 117 wRC+ against righties in his last 500 PAs
What does 2B Gavin Lux look like in his return from the IL?
Lux is feeling the best he has felt all year and is rehabbing in Durham. Similar to Fraley, Lux brings a steady veteran presence with him to a lineup. His 109 wRC+ vs righties for his career represents a real upgrade over what Palacios (92 wRC+ vs RHP) and Williamson (82 wRC+ vs RHP) are currently providing. I think Williamson’s best baseball is still ahead of him and moving him to short-side platoon work at 2B and back-up duties at SS could help him get into more optimal match-ups that improve his production.
As with Fraley, there’s a chance that Lux doesn’t get healthy or his production isn’t what the Rays need it to be. In that case, there aren’t really any internal candidates to come in and hold down bulk platoon work at 2B. Brayden Taylor could be that guy if he wasn’t still in AA. His performance this year has restored his prospect status following a swing adjustment late last season, but there’s a lot of risk in bringing him up to play most days without him having any AAA experience.
It looks like the Rays would explore an external candidate if Lux is unable to regain his form. Luis Arraez would be an ideal acquisition given his track record (126 wRC+ against RHP for his career), and his defensive improvements that have allowed him to play a solid 2B. Some other names they could explore are:
PIT 2B Brandon Lowe (career 134 wRC+ vs RHP); proven track record, but comes with injury risk
MIN INF/OF Kody Clemens (career 96 wRC+ vs RHP); 117 wRC+ against righties in his last 500 PAs
ATH INF/OF Zack Gelof (career 114 wRC+ vs RHP); reverse splits, but he’s currently injured
How will starter workloads be managed?
The Rays have several members of their rotation who will have varying degrees of innings limits. Nick Martinez is the only starter likely to reach 170-180 innings this season.
There are a couple internal options in AAA who could come up and cover innings in spot starts or bulk roles out of the bullpen:
Mason Englert; being stretched out and working as a starter after working in the bullpen for his ML career
Ty Johnson; throws only two pitches, but could be reliable as a bulk pitcher or multi-inning reliever
Michael Forret; strike throwing is inconsistent, but could be reliable as a bulk pitcher or multi-inning reliever
Joe Boyle; working in the bullpen for the rest of the season, could be impactful as a multi-inning reliever
Michael Grove; long-term plan is for him to start, but he could be effective in a multi-inning role for now
Brody Hopkins is still learning to pitch with the AAA baseball and he underwent some mechanical changes that will take time to get used to so I don’t anticipate him providing many meaningful innings in the majors this season.
The Rays don’t have enough impact pitching ready to contribute in the majors this season, so they’ll likely explore an external addition. I’ve already written about Tarik Skubal, Joe Ryan, and Freddy Peralta. All three have strong track records and could help the Rays in the top half of their rotation. Given the way baseballs are flying off the bat similar to 2019, a groundball pitcher like Sandy Alcantara could also be a good fit if the Marlins fall out of contention in the next few weeks. Jose Soriano, Sonny Gray, and Landon Roupp also fit this mold. The biggest barrier to acquiring a high-end starter at the deadline will certainly be the cost. The Rays have the prospect capital to afford a big name to add to their rotation without depleting their farm system.
Which Rule 5 eligible prospects will need protection?
No doubt the Rays will be looking to get ahead of their annual Rule 5 crunch this summer. They already dealt Ty Cummings for Casey Legumina, but they still have over 50 players who will be Rule 5 eligible. Not all of them will need protection, but some of the names in the upper levels include:
C Tatem Levins
1B Tre’ Morgan
INF Cooper Kinney
OF Homer Bush Jr.
RHP Brody Hopkins
RHP Ty Johnson
RHP Michael Forret
RHP Owen Wild
DH/1B Xavier Isaac
INF Brayden Taylor
RHP Jackson Baumeister
RHP Santiago Suarez
RHP Gary Gill Hill
RHP TJ Nichols
There’s a chance that the Rule 5 Draft may not happen given the expiring CBA after this season, and that would certainly benefit the Rays because then they wouldn’t have to make a decision on these players. However, it would still be wise to look to move some of these prospects as part of a deal for help in the majors or for lower level prospects – like when Duncan Davitt and Ben Peoples were part of the package for Adrian Houser last season. The Rays could also look to move some of these Rule 5 eligible guys for a prospect in the lower minors – like when they traded Tobias Myers for Junior Caminero a few years ago.
The Rays’ deadline priorities will ultimately depend less on what other clubs make available than on the health of Fraley and Lux over the next few weeks. If both return and perform, Tampa Bay can focus almost entirely on adding rotation help and consolidating their minor league rosters ahead of a potential Rule 5 crunch. If either Fraley or Lux struggles/suffers another setback, the front office has enough prospect capital to address those needs externally while still pursuing an impact starter.
