The Mets have selected two-way player Mitch Voit with the 38th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
Voit, 20, pitched and played second base for three years with the Big Ten school, but he didn't pitch last season after undergoing internal brace surgery on his throwing arm in July 2024.
In 56 games last season with the Wolverines, Voit had 17 doubles, four triples, 14 home runs, and 60 RBI with a .346/.471/.668 slash line for a 1.140 OPS. He walked 40 times to 34 strikeouts.
In 2024, his last year pitching and hitting, the right-hander had a 5.49 ERA and 1.412 WHIP in 62.1 innings over 10 starts, with 41 strikeouts to 16 walks. That year at the plate, he had 20 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs with 46 RBI and a .292/.373/.572 slash line with a .945 OPS. He struck out 61 times to 23 walks.
Overall, Voit batted .303 with a .962 OPS in 631 at-bats over 169 games with Michigan with 46 doubles, seven triples, 35 home runs, and 138 RBI. He also spent time all around the diamond during his time in college, playing 51 games at third base in 2023, 33 games at first, and 22 in the outfield in 2024, before appearing in 56 games at second in his final season.
As a pitcher, he posted a 4.67 ERA and 1.332 WHIP over 98.1 innings and 29 games (11 starts) with 66 strikeouts to 28 walks.
There are questions about whether Voit will continue pitching in the big league ranks, but he was announced as a two-way player. Of course, when the Mets selected Carson Benge in last year's draft, he was announced as a two-way player, but the 19th overall pick has been converted to just a position player.
New York's first pick came at No. 38 in the Competitive Balance Round A, as their first selection dropped 10 spots due to exceeding the luxury tax threshold by $40 million or more last season, picking ahead of the Yankees (No. 39) and Dodgers (No. 40), who fell that far for the same reason.
The Mets don't pick again until No. 102 due to signing Juan Soto, who was a free agent who received a qualifying offer. (The signing also meant New York forfeited their second-and fifth-highest selections and $1 million from their 2026 international bonus pool.)
Joe DeMayo's Reaction...
Voit, a former two-way player, is likely to be deployed as just a hitter in pro ball. He has excellent bat speed and in-zone contact rates. His swing is natural at lofting the ball in the air, with a preference to the pull side, where he posts above-average exit velocities.
He is a plus athlete who acclimated himself well to second base, but with a healthy arm after he underwent internal brace surgery as a sophomore, Voit should have enough arm strength for third base if the Mets want to try him there.
I look at Voit as more of a high-floor type of player rather than a big ceiling. As a college junior, he has a chance to be a relatively quick riser through the minors.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers during the first inning of a 5-2 win in 11 innings over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Sunday. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
They’ve underperformed relative to preseason expectations, but worked around serious roster limitations.
They’ve wowed with an undefeated 8-0 start, a star-studded offense that tops the majors in scoring, and a comfortable division lead in a competitive National League West. And yet, they’ve left so much to still be desired, both on the mound from their injury-plagued pitching staff and at the plate amid uncharacteristic slumps from several veteran stars.
No, the Dodgers have not played like "The Greatest Team Ever" in the first half of the season. Their record-setting $400-million payroll is not bidding for any all-time wins mark.
But, after grinding out a 5-2 extra-innings win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday to enter the All-Star break with a key divisional series victory, their first half has been a quiet success nonetheless, concluding with the Dodgers (58-39) holding a 5 ½-game lead in the NL West, the top record in the NL and still the best odds of being baseball’s first repeat champion in a quarter-century.
“I think the win-loss, the standings are great,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But I think there’s just a lot of improvement that we need to do, we need to be better at.”
Indeed, Sunday epitomized the duality of the Dodgers’ first 97 games.
Their starting pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, completed his stellar start to the season with a seven-inning gem, keeping the Giants (52-45) off the scoreboard while giving up three hits, two walks and striking out seven batters.
If the Dodgers were to pick a first-half MVP, perhaps only Shohei Ohtani would outpace Yamamoto, who enters the break as a first-time All-Star thanks to his 9-7 record, 2.59 earned-run average and six separate outings of six or more scoreless innings (tied for second-most such starts in the majors this year, behind only Tarik Skubal).
“He’s been really good,” Roberts said before the game, wholly convinced the 26-year-old Japanese right-hander would bounce back from his ugly five-run first inning in Milwaukee last week. “He’s just to the point where he knows he’s a really good pitcher, he’s an All-Star and he has high expectations for himself. He’s just been very valuable.”
However, the back end of the bullpen remained a problem, with closer Tanner Scott blowing a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth by giving up a two-run home run to pinch-hitter Luis Matos on a hanging slider at the knees.
Scott, a $72-million signing this offseason, has converted only 19 of his 26 save opportunities this year. He has a 4.09 ERA and eight home runs given up. And his struggles have made the bullpen a prime area of need for the Dodgers entering the trade deadline.
“[He’s] just in-zone too much,” Roberts said, “and getting beat by [the slider] or getting beat by the fastball in similar locations.”
The Dodgers’ offense has been equally quixotic.
Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman both hit the midway point mired in extended slumps — though Freeman made a couple key contributions Sunday, lining an RBI double in the fourth inning before putting the Dodgers back in front in the 11th with a bloop single that dropped in center.
“It's just good to actually hit a couple balls,” Freeman deadpanned postgame. “That's been the hardest thing the last couple months.”
Freddie Freeman hits a run-scoring single in the 11th inning Sunday against the Giants. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
Meanwhile, Ohtani has pitched superbly in his limited action on the mound, but his offense has declined since resuming a two-way role. When he singled in the fifth inning Sunday, it marked his first hit this year to come on the day immediately following one of his pitching starts.
“When you’re starting to try to break it down, I think you can cut it any way you want,” Roberts said when asked about Ohtani’s increasingly noticeable dip in production. “But when he’s in the lineup, he makes the lineup better.”
And though catcher Will Smith has a healthy lead for the NL batting title, earning his third-straight All-Star nod with a .323 mark, others toward the bottom of the lineup have been cold, from Teoscar Hernández (who is hitting barely .200 since returning from an adductor injury in May; though he added an infield single in Sunday’s 11th inning rally) to Andy Pages (whose All-Star candidacy fizzled with a .220 average in his last 16 games, despite also chipping in with an RBI single in the 11th) to Tommy Edman (whose defensive versatility has been valuable, but finished the first half in an 0-for-23 slump).
“I always expect more from our guys,” Roberts said, sounding less than satisfied with the state of his club at the midseason marker. “And they expect the same thing.”
Such struggles, after all, are reminders of how the Dodgers remain fallible in their pursuit of another World Series.
Their banged-up pitching staff remains another wild card in their pressure-packed title defense (though Tyler Glasnow has already returned, Blake Snell and Blake Treinen should be back shortly after the All-Star break, and Roki Sasaki is on track for a late August return after throwing a long-awaited bullpen session this week).
And for large swaths of the first half of the season, it all made the Dodgers look exceedingly mortal; none more so than during the seven-game losing streak that preceded their back-to-back wins against the Giants to close out this weekend’s series.
"I mean, obviously, we didn't want to lose nine in a row going into the break,” Freeman said. “So getting a couple of wins and ending it on a good note after a really good first half that we played, that was big today."
However, their issues have still done little to no damage to the team’s long-term chances, with a frustrating but fruitful opening act to this campaign leaving the Dodgers right where they want to be — even if, as Sunday epitomized, they haven’t gotten there the way they would have hoped.
“First place is first place,” Freeman said. “I think we're OK with where we're at.”
In his first outing of the year, making a return from the 60-day injured list after a late-March oblique strain initially sidelined him, he struck out seven -- including five straight -- while scattering five hits.
The relief outing, which followed starting right-hander Clay Holmes' five innings of two-run ball, saw Manaea toss a scoreless three frames before returning for the ninth after New York's game-tying rally.
"Obviously, it sucks, losing," said Manaea, who threw 44 strikes on 65 pitches in 3.1 IP. "You never want to do that. But for me, personally, it just feels good to be healthy, back on the mound. It's a very weird juxtaposition."
Manaea's ninth inning started by striking out Salvador Perez before back-to-back singles from Tyler Tolbert, who stole second base, and Nick Loftin lifted the Royals (47-50) past the Mets (55-42).
"Not only (was Manaea rolling into the ninth), we needed that fourth up for him and that was his last batter anyway because he was on a pitch count and he was 60, 65 and he got to 65 there," said manager Carlos Mendoza. "So, regardless of the outcome there -- and the way he was throwing the ball, he was pretty, pretty dominant. Couple of singles there at the end, but I thought he was pretty good overall."
Manaea relieved Holmes (8-4, 3.31 ERA) to start the sixth inning and, after Bobby Witt Jr.'s leadoff single, retired the next six batters in a row. The stretch started on Vinnie Pasquantino's ground out to first base and followed with five straight strikeouts.
"Typical Sean Manaea," Mendoza said. "Fastball playing at the top of the zone, he's getting swings and misses, the sweeper was really good -- we saw that the whole year, and it was good to see it today, attacking, throwing strikes and with those pitches are going, pitching from that slot, he's pretty effective and we saw it today."
The second half of the Mets' season starts Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY with New York's three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds, and Manaea figures to be a factor as the stretch run begins.
"I felt great out there," Manaea said. "I feel like, if I can keep doing that, I'll have a successful second half."
Seth Hernandez has imagined his name being announced for years at the MLB amateur draft. It finally happened Sunday. The Gatorade national player of the year and two-time L.A. Times player of the year from Corona High School was chosen No. 6 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates. T
The Pirates have been successful with Southern California pitchers, having drafted Gerrit Cole (Orange Lutheran), Paul Skenes (El Toro) and Jared Jones (La Mirada) in the past. And they took Warren pitcher Angel Cervantes in the second round on Sunday.
It was an historic opening draft for Corona High, because for the first time, a single high school produced three first-round draft picks. Shortstop Billy Carlson went No. 10 to the Chicago White Sox and third baseman Brady Ebel went No. 32 to the Milwaukee Brewers in joining Hernandez.
"It's nuts," said Corona coach Andy Wise, who went to gatherings at the Hernandez and Carlson houses. "It's an absolute honor to have those kids in our program and I couldn't be happier for their families."
Hernandez was considered the best right-handed high school pitcher in the draft after a sensational senior season in which he struck out 105 batters in 53 1/3 innings while walking only seven using a 99-mph fastball. His ERA was 0.39.
Wise said he has coached no one better. Hernandez missed his first two years of high school being home schooled. The last two seasons his pitching record was 18-1. He has a very good slider and changeup. He's uniquely ready for the pressure and exposure ahead, having been watched closely for years by scouts and interviewed over and over.
Shortstop Gavin Fien from Great Oak was taken No. 12 by the Chicago White Sox.
High school shortstop Eli Willits from Oklahoma was taken No. 1 by the Washington Nationals.
ATLANTA — The Washington Nationals selected Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits on Sunday night with the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft in a selection seen by some as a surprise.
The 17-year-old Willits is the youngest player ever taken No. 1 overall. He’s the son of ex-big leaguer Reggie Willits, who played six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels and also coached with the New York Yankees.
Willits, from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School, is a switch-hitter who is expected to develop a power swing.
“I feel like I have good hitability and I’m going to take that to the next level,” Willits said when asked about his strengths. “And I feel like my power is up and coming, but I needed to get into an organization like the Nationals that can help develop that and take that to the next level.
The draft came one week after the Nationals fired longtime general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez. The timing of the moves added more uncertainty to a draft that might be one of the most unpredictable in recent years, including the choice of the No. 1 pick.
The Los Angeles Angels added another surprise with the No. 2 pick by selecting UC-Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner. Seattle followed by taking LSU lefty Kade Anderson.
The Colorado Rockies picked shortstop Ethan Holliday at No. 4, landing the son of longtime Rockies star Matt Holliday. Ethan, from Stillwater, Oklahoma, was a candidate to go first overall, just like brother Jackson Holliday with did with Baltimore in 2022. They would have been the first brothers to be drafted with the first overall pick.
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred was greeted with boos by fans at the draft held at the Roxy Theater at The Battery, adjacent to the Braves’ Truist Park two days before MLB’s All-Star Game. Manfred noted the Braves chose eventual Hall of Famer Chipper Jones with the No. 1 overall pick and said this draft is “a chance for a team to make a franchise-altering selection like the Braves made in 1990.”
The first three rounds were scheduled for Sunday night, with the remainder of the draft to follow on Monday.
The first half of the Mets' 2025 season is in the books. New York lost Sunday's finale at the Kansas City Royals, 3-2, after a ninth-inning comeback fell short and the home team walked it off. The Mets enter the 2025 MLB All-Star break with a series win, however, after Friday's 8-3 comeback and Saturday's 3-1 triumph.
Takeaways
At 55-42, the Mets have won seven of their past 11 games. As of this article's publishing, they are tied alongside the Philadelphia Phillies, who entered Sunday afternoon's game at the San Diego Padres with a 54-41 record. (Note: Philly has since beaten San Diego, 2-1, and taken a half-game lead in the NL East.) Despite the loss to the Royals (47-50), New York has won three of its past four series. Ultimately, it has a chance to keep the ball rolling Friday when the second half starts with a three-game set at the Cincinnati Reds.
Clay Holmes gave the Mets a chance but got no support. Holmes (8-4, 3.31 ERA) was the tough-luck no-decision pitcher after the right-hander allowed two runs on five hits while striking out two and walking one in five innings. He threw 50 strikes on 81 pitches. His only scoring came via John Rave's RBI double down the right-field line with runners on second and third. It was a groundball that just stayed fair before trickling into the corner.
Overall,Sean Manaea showed some serious signs of life in his season debut. He relieved Holmes for the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, striking out seven and scattering five hits in 3.1 IP. Manaea threw 44 strikes on 65 pitches -- the highlight was him striking out the side in the seventh. Unfortunately for Manaea, the ninth saw him allow back-to-back one-out singles -- capped by Nick Loftin's game-winning knock that drove home Tyler Tolbert. The Mets, though, need Manaea to be a key cog in the rotation for the stretch run. The bottom line is that he provided real promise throughout his first outing back from injury.
Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Tyrone Taylor notched multi-hit games with two knocks apiece. Among them, Mauricio's leadoff double in the ninth inning set the table for a Jeff McNeil triple that broke the Mets' scoring drought before Jared Young's one-out sacrifice fly to center field brought McNeil home and tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. Mauricio is slashing .237/.311/.409 with four home runs and six RBI in 29 games since his June 3 promotion from Triple-A Syracuse.
Who's the MVP?
Loftin, who got the best of Manaea in the game's biggest spot.
After Tuesday's All-Star Game, the second half of the Mets' season starts Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY with New York's three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field.
The Mets' young catcher continued to hit the ball hard at Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday with three extra-base hits as he makes the case to rejoin the big league club after the All-Star Break.
Alvarez socked a home run for the third straight game, giving him six for the month of July, after he smacked two on Saturday afternoon.
In Alvarez's first at-bat on the afternoon with two down in the bottom of the first, he got a 2-2 curveball over the middle of the plate from Andrew Painter (the Phillies' No. 1 prospect and No. 9 in baseball per MLB Pipeline) and smacked it – 108.2 mph off the bat – into the left-center gap for a double.
With a runner on first and nobody out in the fourth, Alvarez was again in a 2-2 count against Paitner. This time, the 22-year-old right-hander went with a fastball, but the 98 mph offering at the top of the zone was clobbered for a 402-foot homer to center (109.6 mph).
In his final time up in a driving rain, Alvarez worked a count full against righty Devin Sweet and got a 77 mph changeup over the plate and roped it 100.6 mph for a double to left.
He came around to score on Joey Meneses' double to right before the umpires halted play. The game would end there with Alvarez going 3-for-3 with eight total bases, two RBI, and two runs scored.
In the 16 games since he was sent down in late June, the 23-year-old has 16 hits in 57 at-bats (.281) with three doubles, eight home runs, 18 RBI for a 1.114 OPS.
Speaking before the Mets took on the Royals in Kansas City, manager Carlos Mendoza said he's been getting good reports on the young catcher, praising his work ethic and how positive he has been since arriving in Syracuse.
"Willingness to listen to the feedback in some of the things, where it is defensively or offensively," Mendoza said, adding that he's speaking with the Triple-A manager Dick Scott and the minor league coordinators, "and everything has been phenomenal."
"He's doing everything we're asking him to do," the skipper continued. "He continues to put himself in a position like, 'hey, I'm here.'"
Mendoza, who said he's been watching all of Alvarez's at-bats, said the Mets "want him to do damage."
"Be ready for the fastball, make some good swing decisions, and when he's getting pitches to hit, not missing them. And that's what we're seeing," he said. "We're seeing him pull the ball, we're seeing him go the other way, we're seeing him go dead center. And that's a sign of a good hitter when he's feeling and going well.
"It's not necessary that you have to pull the ball or you have to go the other way. No, you hit the ball where it's pitched."
Mendoza said that when Alvarez is at his best he's capable of doing all that. "Watching the films, he's driving the ball to all fields," he added.
On the defensive side of things, the manager said there has been "a lot of improvement, as well."
"The receiving, the blocking, we know the throwing has been there," he said. "Again, a lot of good things happening from Alvy."
When asked if Alvarez could be back right after the break, when the Mets open up a three-game set with the Cincinnati Reds on Friday at Citi Field, Mendoza said he would have to talk with president of baseball operations David Stearns.
SAN DIEGO — Phillies pitcher Christopher Sanchez going out and pitching a gem against the San Diego Padres was about as surprising as the weather being 72 and sunny at Petco Park to begin the game. Both are so expected and neither failed in producing as Sanchez kept his magical season rolling with 7.1 strong innings of work in a 2-1, series finale win for the Phillies.
Sanchez has now allowed just 14 earned runs over his past 10 starts, amounting to 65.2 innings for a 1.92 ERA during that time. He finishes the pre All-Star break at 8-2 with a 2.50 ERA.
While Major League Baseball disrespected Sanchez with an All-Star snub, the Padres showed the lefthander the ultimate respect in the first inning when after Fernando Tatis Jr. led off with a single to right, they had Luis Arraez bunt Tatis Jr. over to second. That’s saying something, as Arraez is a lifetime .318 hitter. Sanchez did struggle through the inning with a pair of walks but got out of the jam by striking out Jose Iglesias with a nasty changeup on his 19th pitch of the frame.
“All the experience that we’ve gotten and how we’re working out and the preparation we do before games I think is what’s put us in this spot,” said Sanchez. “We’ve been able to perform better in those spots, too. Staying healthy, having those numbers and most important is helping the team win. That’s the most important thing right now.”
A microcosm of the game came about in the eighth inning with the score tied, 1-1. The Phillies sent up their two, three and four hitters (Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos) against Padres’ left handed reliever, and All-Star, Adrian Morejon. The Padres sent their same part of the lineup against the Phils in the bottom of the inning.
After Turner lined out to center, Harper doubled down the leftfield line. David Morgan replaced Morejon and Castellanos struck out on a 3-2 pitch way out of the strike zone. J.T. Realmuto then laced a double to left-center to knock in Harper and take a 2-1 lead.
Sanchez returned in the eighth to face Luis Arraez, whom he got on a liner to first to end his day. Orion Kerkering then came in and allowed a single to Manny Machado, threw a wild pitch to allow him to second before walking Xander Bogaerts. Kerkering recovered nicely by getting both Jackson Merrill and Jose Iglesias to fly out to center.
It was a very small battle among many of late for the Phillies, who struggled mightily in times just like that one, particularly on this six-game road trip. But the Phillies won it and it helped them finish the road trip with their second win in six games, putting them a half-game ahead of the Mets in the East.
“In the last at-bats for both those guys (Machado and Bogaerts) it looked like they were seeing him pretty good,” said Thomson of removing Sanchez after 86 pitches. “I just decided to go to Kerk.
“I’m just so proud of (Sanchez) from where he started and where he’s at right now. Not just stuff, but command, poise and composure. He gets through the first inning there. When we first had him he’s not getting through that first inning, it might affect the rest of his innings. Now he’s learned to slow the game down, able to handle adversity, keep grinding and keep pitching.”
Catcher J.T. Realmuto played a huge part in the team climbing to 55-41 on the season. In the bottom of the seventh he threw an absolute dart to Trea Turner to get Tatis Jr. on a steal attempt to end the inning. Then in the eighth, his double scored Harper from second for the game-winning run. Realmuto finished the day 2-for-4 and is now 11 for his last 25 at the plate.
“I thought I had a chance at him,” Realmuto downplayed his throw. “I knew it would take a quick throw.”
It did and it was. As for his turnaround at the plate, it’s not all that complicated.
“Just trying to get good pitches and put the barrel on the ball,” he said. “Simplify my approach and just do less really. That’s what it comes down to.”
As the music blared in the clubhouse and families waited outside of it so that this mini vacation can begin for them, Thomson had just one rule for his club. “I just think everybody needs a break right now,” he said. “I just think we’ve been grinding. There haven’t been many games where you felt really comfortable. Everything’s been a close game, whether we’re down, we’re up. I think everybody just needs a little break. The only thing I tell them is to move around a little bit. Pitchers play catch, some of the guys I know are going to do bullpens. Just move around a little bit. Just don’t lay around for four days and get stiff.”
“Kyson is a guy we valued highly entering the draft, and we believe he is one of the top college arms in the class,” Red Sox director of amateur scouting Devin Pearson said in a statement. “We think he fits in nicely with our development strengths and has the right makeup to pitch at Fenway park. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to Red Sox Nation.”
Witherspoon, 20, was ranked seventh on Baseball America’s draft board and 10th on MLB Pipeline’s board. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder reaches 99 mph with his fastball and also boasts three above-average secondary pitches: a slider, cutter, and curveball:
Last season for the Sooners, Witherspoon posted a 10-4 record with a 2.65 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 124 strikeouts, and 23 walks in 16 starts (95 innings). He is the first pitcher selected by the Red Sox in the first round since Tanner Houck (2017).
Boston selected another college pitcher, Tennessee righty Marcus Phillips, with its No. 33 pick. The club has two more picks on Day 1 of the draft: Nos. 75 and 87.
The Yankees dropped their final game before the All-Star break, losing to the Chicago Cubs by a score of 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Here are the takeaways...
-There wasn't a lot to like out of New York's offense on Sunday as it got just two hits from the lineup. One of those hits was a home run by Giancarlo Stanton which tied the game at 1-1 in the second, but after that the Yankees were completely shut down by Shota Imanaga who went seven innings.
The only other hit on the day by the Bombers came from Austin Wells who singled to lead off the sixth. He was quickly erased on a double play by Paul Goldschmidt.
-Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first inning against Will Warren on a Michael Busch leadoff home run. The Cubs kept the pressure on Warren and got the next two batters on, but the right-hander got Pete Crow-Armstrong to flyout before Carson Kelly ended the inning with a double play.
Warren had to deal with more traffic in the second and fourth, but managed to get out of each inning unscathed. He went back out for the sixth and Kelly got even with a leadoff double. After a groundout to advance the runner to third, Warren's day was done.
His final line: 5.1 innings, six hits, three walks, two earned runs, one strikeout on 88 pitches (52 strikes).
-Replacing Warren was Ian Hamilton who immediately surrendered a two-run shot to Dansby Swanson that broke the tie and gave Chicago a 3-1 lead.
-The Cubs scored again in the seventh, this time off Tim Hill after Seiya Suzuki doubled and Crow-Armstrong singled him home. They had 10 hits.
Game MVP: Shota Imanaga
After allowing a game-tying home run in the second, Imanaga found his groove and took apart New York's lineup over seven innings.
New York placed Butto (illness) on the 15-day injured list July 4, retroactive to July 1. He goes to Port St. Lucie, Fla., and pitches Tuesday, Mendoza explained.
"He is going to Port St. Lucie," Mendoza said. "I think he's going to pitch in a game on Tuesday. And then we'll see where we're at, how he recovers after that outing, and see if he's available on Friday or if he needs another one or two. But the good thing is that he's going to be pitching in games on Tuesday."
After Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta, the second half of the Mets' 2025 season starts Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY with a three-game road series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Butto, 27, has allowed 14 runs (12 earned) on 35 hits (two home runs) while striking out 39 and walking 20 in 43.2 IP this season.
The 27-year-old Kranick, meanwhile, has been on the 15-day injured list since June 19 (retroactive to June 16) with a strained right elbow. Tommy John surgery "could be" a possibility, Mendoza added.
"Nothing yet," Mendoza said of Kranick. "He went and saw Dr. (Keith) Meister on Thursday, so he's still looking, waiting for opinions from the doctors to see what's the next step here."
Kranick has allowed 15 runs on 34 hits (five home runs) while striking out 25 and walking five in 37 IP this season.
The Washington Nationals selected Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits on Sunday night with the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft in a selection seen by some as a surprise.
The 17-year-old Willits is the youngest player ever taken No. 1 overall. He’s the son of ex-big leaguer Reggie Willits, who played six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels and also coached with the New York Yankees.
Willits, from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School, is a switch-hitter who is expected to develop a power swing.
“I feel like I have good hitability and I’m going to take that to the next level,” Willits said when asked about his strengths. “And I feel like my power is up and coming, but I needed to get into an organization like the Nationals that can help develop that and take that to the next level.
The draft came one week after the Nationals fired longtime general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez. The timing of the moves added more uncertainty to a draft that might be one of the most unpredictable in recent years, including the choice of the No. 1 pick.
The Los Angeles Angels added another surprise with the No. 2 pick by selecting UC-Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner. Seattle followed by taking LSU lefty Kade Anderson.
The Colorado Rockies picked shortstop Ethan Holliday at No. 4, landing the son of longtime Rockies star Matt Holliday. Ethan, from Stillwater, Oklahoma, was a candidate to go first overall, just like brother Jackson Holliday with did with Baltimore in 2022. They would have been the first brothers to be drafted with the first overall pick.
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred was greeted with boos by fans at the draft held at the Roxy Theater at The Battery, adjacent to the Braves’ Truist Park two days before MLB’s All-Star Game. Manfred noted the Braves chose eventual Hall of Famer Chipper Jones with the No. 1 overall pick and said this draft is “a chance for a team to make a franchise-altering selection like the Braves made in 1990.”
The first three rounds were scheduled for Sunday night, with the remainder of the draft to follow on Monday.
The Washington Nationals selected Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits on Sunday night with the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft in a selection seen by some as a surprise.
The 17-year-old Willits is the youngest player ever taken No. 1 overall. He’s the son of ex-big leaguer Reggie Willits, who played six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels and also coached with the New York Yankees.
Willits, from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School, is a switch-hitter who is expected to develop a power swing.
“I feel like I have good hitability and I’m going to take that to the next level,” Willits said when asked about his strengths. “And I feel like my power is up and coming, but I needed to get into an organization like the Nationals that can help develop that and take that to the next level.
The draft came one week after the Nationals fired longtime general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez. The timing of the moves added more uncertainty to a draft that might be one of the most unpredictable in recent years, including the choice of the No. 1 pick.
The Los Angeles Angels added another surprise with the No. 2 pick by selecting UC-Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner. Seattle followed by taking LSU lefty Kade Anderson.
The Colorado Rockies picked shortstop Ethan Holliday at No. 4, landing the son of longtime Rockies star Matt Holliday. Ethan, from Stillwater, Oklahoma, was a candidate to go first overall, just like brother Jackson Holliday with did with Baltimore in 2022. They would have been the first brothers to be drafted with the first overall pick.
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred was greeted with boos by fans at the draft held at the Roxy Theater at The Battery, adjacent to the Braves’ Truist Park two days before MLB’s All-Star Game. Manfred noted the Braves chose eventual Hall of Famer Chipper Jones with the No. 1 overall pick and said this draft is “a chance for a team to make a franchise-altering selection like the Braves made in 1990.”
The first three rounds were scheduled for Sunday night, with the remainder of the draft to follow on Monday.
Yankees starter Luis Gil made his first rehab start on Sunday with Double-A Somerset and had an impressive outing.
The right-hander went 3.1 innings and allowed a run on two hits and a walk while striking out six. He threw 50 pitches (36 strikes) which was his pitch-count.
It was the first time Gil was back on the mound after suffering a right lat strain in spring training which landed him on the 60-day IL to begin the season.
Before New York's rubber game against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, manager Aaron Boone told reporters that the organization definitely wants Gil to have at least a few rehab starts before he returns to the majors, although a final number of pitches thrown for his next start is not yet set.
"It'll probably be a more conservative build," Boone said about Gil.
Luis Gil threw exactly 50 pitches (36 strikes) as he completed his first rehab start today with Double-A Somerset
SAN FRANCISCO — Bob Melvin is generally quick to answer questions, but when he was asked Sunday afternoon to sum up the first half, he paused for four seconds and took a deep breath.
“We’d like to have a few more wins,” Melvin said. “But we put ourselves in a position to have a good second half and get to the postseason.”
If the 2025 MLB postseason started Monday, the Giants would be watching from home. They went 52-45 in the first half, which is better than most expected, but still has them third in the NL West, a half-game behind the San Diego Padres and six behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants are currently half a game out of the final NL Wild Card spot.
Of those 52 wins, there have been some stunners. On this homestand, Patrick Bailey hit a walk-off inside-the-park homer, the ninth walk-off at Oracle Park this season. When Luis Matos shocked the Dodgers with a two-run blast in the ninth Sunday, the Giants were poised for a 10th.
But the Matos blast was San Francisco’s only notable offensive moment in a 5-2 loss on Sunday that fit in with much of the first half, and especially June and July. The Giants rank 24th in the league in OPS and 21st in runs. Even with Rafael Devers in the fold, this is a lineup that was a disappointment in the first half and didn’t adequately back one of the best pitching staffs in baseball.
On Sunday, All-Star Robbie Ray allowed two runs over six innings to give the Giants a chance for a series win, but they managed just three hits through eight. After Matos took Tanner Scott deep, they failed to score the automatic runner from second in the 10th and 11th innings.
There was some bad luck involved — James Outman chased down Devers’ liner to the track in the 10th — but the day was also filled with unproductive at-bats against Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a mediocre Dodgers bullpen. Before the Devers at-bat, Patrick Bailey failed to get a bunt down and then flew out softly to center. Afterward, Willy Adames grounded out to third.
Adames has been the team’s most dangerous hitter over the past month, but he finished the first half with a .680 OPS. The only Giant who heads into the break with an OPS above .800 is Devers, who did most of that lifting in Boston. He was at .905 before the trade but is at .656 in orange and black.
Matt Chapman had a solid first half and is on pace for a four-win season. Heliot Ramos has slumped in recent weeks, but he should generally be happy, too. His 117 wRC+ puts him right behind Chapman as the only Giants hitters who have been comfortably above league-average.
Mike Yastrzemski (.723 OPS), Jung Hoo Lee (.720) and Wilmer Flores (.696) all had their moments in the first half, but the overall numbers don’t stand out. Bailey’s flyout in extras gave him a .203 average at the break. Opening Day second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald played his way back to Triple-A, and Matos did so poorly against lefties before Sunday’s blast that a planned platoon of him and Yastrzemski was scrapped.
Melvin looks at all of those names and sees a solid everyday lineup on paper. He mostly stuck with the same group against the Dodgers, but the Giants managed just eight hits over the final two games of the series. Melvin said afterward that he still has plenty of faith.
“We’re going to be better offensively. I believe that,” he said. “We have some guys that are coming around a little bit, we have some guys that will come around a little bit more. We have some guys in the middle of the lineup that are going to do more damage. I do think our offense is going to be better in the second half.”
The team’s decision-makers see a group that should benefit from the four days off. Devers has been playing through groin and back tightness and Chapman had just one extra-base hit in eight games after rushing back from a hand injury. Others might simply need a couple of days on the lake to clear their heads, but it’s dangerous to just assume that the second half will bring fresh luck. The Giants were remarkably healthy throughout the first half, with Chapman being the only one of the team’s marquee hitters to miss real time.
That was an area where the Giants benefitted from plenty of good fortune. In extra innings Sunday, there was nothing but bad luck.
After the near-miss from Devers, the Dodgers took the lead on a pair of bloops and an infield single. There wasn’t much the Giants could complain about, though. For most of three hours at Oracle Park, they did very little to put themselves in position to win the game. It was the kind of day they have gotten used to, even while generally having a good first half.
“You pick yourself up,” Melvin said. “And you move on.”
