This offseason’s message from the Mets has been largely built around run prevention.
And since David Stearns has been with the organization, center field has been the spot that he's prioritized defense the most.
In 2024, he acquired Tyrone Taylor from the Brewers and signed Harrison Bader as a free agent -- that worked out well as the Mets made a run to the NLCS.
In 2025, Bader left as a free agent and the Mets attempted to acquire a similar defense-first type of player in Jose Siri from Tampa Bay. That did not work out. He was injured for most of the year and ended up getting DFA'd before the season ended.
Now, there is another opportunity to pursue run prevention in center -- a potential trade for 28-year old White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr.
If you look him up on Baseball Reference, the stat line will leave plenty to be desired. He slashed .223/.297/.364 (.661 OPS) with 14 home runs, 53 RBI and 33 stolen bases in 2025. However, there is more under the hood that has Robert as a very intriguing buy-low option.
From a contractual standpoint, Robert is owed $20 million in 2026 with a $20 million club option for 2027. He would be a true year-to-year proposition.
Here are the pros and cons of trading for Robert…
Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Rate Field / Kamil Krzaczynski - Imagn Images
PROS
Robert is an excellent athlete and has all the tools to be a special player.
In 2023 at 25-years old, Robert posted an .857 OPS with 38 home runs and looked the part of a future MVP candidate.
While he has not replicated that offensive success since, there were some intriguing things in the advanced statistics that suggest there are better offensive days ahead for the still-in-his-prime center fielder.
His 2025 season began to take a turn offensively when the calendar flipped to July, and that led to him being considered a prime trade deadline candidate. The Mets were among the teams in conversations with the White Sox, but they ultimately decided to keep Robert.
Robert hit .293/.349/.459 (.808 OPS) with six home runs, 21 RBI and 11 stolen bases from July 8 until his season ended in late-August due to a hamstring strain
Robert has the raw power you are looking for, with a max exit velocity of 115.8 mph in 2025. He also possesses elite bat speed in the 92nd percentile. His 26 percent strikeout rate is certainly below average, but he trimmed it significantly from 33 percent in 2024. Robert also posted a career best 9.3 walk percentage, which is an above average number in the 62nd percentile.
What's clear is Robert had a better approach at the plate in 2025 with perhaps some bad luck mixed in, as evidenced by a .250 expected batting average. It just did not end up showing in his end of season numbers.
Robert’s defense and speed help raise his floor as a player. He is a plus defender in center, rating at +7 OAA in range, which ranked in the 93rd percentile. His arm is more above average than plus, but it plays in center field.
From a speed standpoint, his sprint speed has made incremental growth each of the last four seasons, with his career best of 29 feet per second in 2025, which ranked in the 90th percentile.
Jul 18, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) hits a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning at PNC Park. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
CONS
While the advanced numbers suggest some bad luck for Robert, the reality is that he has OPS' of .661 and .657 the last two seasons. Even if there is belief in a bounce back, that's two consecutive seasons of offensive numbers that would not be ideal in an everyday lineup for a contender.
Another issue that Robert has missed significant time with injury every season of his big league career except for his breakout 2023, when he played 145 games.
Over the last two seasons he played in just 210 of 324 possible games. He also played under 100 games in both 2021 and 2022. Is he a player the Mets can rely on to take the field every day?
Robert also might block a prospect like Carson Benge or Jett Williams from getting an opportunity in center in 2026.
If the Mets were to acquire someone like Robert, it would be with the idea that he is their center fielder if he is healthy. That does go against Stearns' idea that they must leave room for young players to make an impact on the big league roster.
VERDICT
Since July, I have been openly in favor of acquiring Robert. The price won’t be cheap, but it also won’t be exorbitant. I don’t think the Mets would have to part with any of their very top prospects in a deal.
The White Sox could have interest in one of the Mets' potentially surplus major league infielders such as Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio or Luisangel Acuña. If the Mets could land Robert for one of those and a mid-level prospect, that could be considered a risk worth taking.
He said at his end-of-season news conference that he needed to be more aggressive. At the time, that was considered to be talking about calling up young pitchers like Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat or Jonah Tong earlier than he did.
He may have meant being more aggressive with prospects in general, which has become more of the norm in baseball over the last couple of years.
Benge was on the fast track, making it to Triple-A in his first professional season after being a first round pick. If the Mets are planning to have Benge compete for center field out of camp, getting Robert -- or really any other full-time locked-in center fielder -- does not make a lot of sense. They’d be better suited using their assets to acquire pitching or help at a different position on the diamond.
LAS VEGAS — On Monday, the Giants announced that Bruce Bochy has returned to the organization as a special advisor to the baseball operations department. That means that technically, Buster Posey is now his former manager’s boss.
Of course, the president of baseball operations doesn’t view it that way. When he thinks of their relationship these days, the main thing that stands out is something else.
“When I was a player I never looked at Boch as a friend, because we kind of had that clean line of, ‘I’m the player, you’re the manager, you’re making the decisions and I’m going to go run through a wall for you,'” Posey said on Thursday’s “Giants Talk.” “I think post-playing, I consider Boch a friend. He’s somebody that I could pick up the phone and ask (about) any baseball-related issues.”
At the start of his second year in charge, Posey already has made that call a couple of times. Bochy was consulted as the Giants went through the process of hiring new manager Tony Vitello, and as that was being settled, Posey had another question. When Bochy parted ways with the Texas Rangers after three seasons — and a championship — he was never in consideration to take over for Bob Melvin. But Posey made it clear from the start of the offseason that he wanted Bochy back with the organization.
At the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas this week, Posey said he didn’t have to sell Bochy on a new job with the Giants. He knew his former manager was already excited about the possibility of returning.
“I said, ‘I’m not speaking for you — you’re a Giant,'” Posey recalled. “He had some other options so I wanted to give him space to think about those and work through those.”
This is Bochy’s second stint as a special advisor. He had a similar role after retiring in 2019 and helped in various ways until taking the Rangers job. Posey said he’s looking forward to having Bochy around and “talking shop.”
“He’s mentioned if we want him to go see a certain player, he would do that,” Posey said. “We certainly want him in spring training and I think spending time around Tony. They’ve already spent a little time together. It would be really good. I’m fired up that we have Boch. He’s a fun guy to be around.”
As an executive, Posey has surrounded himself with people from his playing days that he trusts, hiring former Giants GM Bobby Evans and his agent, Jeff Berry, as advisors. Bochy will join Dusty Baker as advisors, which should be valuable to Vitello as he goes through his first season in professional baseball. Ron Wotus will remain in his role as an advisor to Posey and helper for the big league staff.
Posey is also now leaning on former teammate Javier Lopez, who was in Las Vegas to sit in on meetings and help out. The Giants haven’t officially announced a title for Lopez — who will remain on the broadcast team — but that could be coming soon.
Travis Ishikawa, Dan Runzler, Ryan Vogelsong and Joe Panik are among the former Posey teammates who were helping in the minors even before he returned, and Posey has said he’s hopeful that more members of the championship teams get involved in some way. Brandon Crawford is an obvious choice, although he planned to take a full year off after retiring following the 2024 MLB season. There has even been some talk of getting Madison Bumgarner involved in some way, but for the moment, Lopez appears to be the only newcomer.
“I’ve talked to some of them,” Posey said of his former teammates. “It seems like they’re pretty content with what they have going on right now and I get it. When you have kids at home there’s certain things you don’t want to miss. It’s a big commitment. For me, our decision to move back to the Bay Area, I think, made this possible for me to do this.
“I don’t know if it would have been something I would do if we had not moved back to the Bay Area, so I certainly understand where they’re coming from.”
Shohei Ohtani hit 55 home runs for the Dodgers this year [Reuters]
Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has been named one of baseball's Most Valuable Players for the third year in a row, and the fourth time overall.
The 31-year-old played a key role in the Dodgers winning the World Series for a second straight year as they overcame the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this month.
Ohtani is a rare "two-way" player, operating both as a pitcher and a hitter at the elite level, and was named the best player in the National League.
He is second on the all-time list, after Barry Bonds who won seven between 1990 and 2004. He has won all four of his MVPs in unanimous fashion with all 30 first-place votes.
"If I'm playing well as an individual that means I'm helping the team win, so in that sense, hopefully I can end up with a couple more MVPs," Ohtani said through an interpreter. "But it's all about winning games."
Ohtani is the first player to win the honour in both of Major League Baseball's two leagues after becoming the American League (AL) MVP in 2021 and 2023 while playing for the Los Angeles Angels.
In the AL, outfielder Aaron Judge became the New York Yankees' fourth three-time winner.
Judge, who won the AL award in 2022 and 2024, joined Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle as three-time MVPs with the Yankees.
"It's tough for me to wrap my head around," Judge said. "It's mind blowing from my side of things, because I play this game to win, I play this game for my team-mates, my family, all the fans in New York.
"You've got to pinch yourself every single day. It's truly an incredible honour."
At this point, it would be more surprising not to hear about the Phillies’ outfield, Bryce Harper or Kyle Schwarber’s market. Those three topics have dominated headlines, and they were front and center again at the MLB GM Meetings in Las Vegas.
“PHILLY BABY … Two and a half months was not nearly enough … To the ones who made it happen — THANK YOU. To every screaming fan — I LOVE YOU and THANK YOU. To a clubhouse I’m humbled to have been a part of — especially, THANK YOU.”
To some, it read like a farewell. But 94WIP’s Devan Kaney reported that a source said the message “does not mean he’s not returning in the slightest.” It was gratitude, not a signal.
The Phillies remain interested in bringing him back. Dave Dombrowski told The Athletic that Bader’s camp “knows we have interest” and understands the club would like him to return, while also acknowledging Bader plans to explore the market after one of the best seasons of his career.
Phillies likely to move on, but ‘open-minded’ on Castellanos
Nick Castellanos’ outlook for 2026 remains unsettled.
Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Dombrowski has already met multiple times with Castellanos since the season ended, and in those discussions noted that “a change of scenery” can sometimes benefit a player coming off a difficult year.
Nothing is imminent, but the Inquirer also noted the Phillies could evaluate potential trade frameworks — including the idea of a bad-contract swap. Castellanos, 33, is owed $20 million and enters the final season of his five-year, $100 million deal.
Justin Crawford will factor into the outfield picture
One of the clearest takeaways from the GM Meetings came from Matt Gelb of The Athletic, who reported that Justin Crawford is firmly in the mix for the Opening Day roster.
“In my mind, Crawford has a real strong chance to be with our club,” Dombrowski told Gelb. “We think he can play center field.”
Crawford’s speed gives him the range the position demands, and the Phillies sound confident in the 21-year-old. If he earns a starting role, Brandon Marsh — potentially part of a platoon — may be the only other outfield certainty.
Harper, Dombrowski had a ‘nice conversation’
Harper’s name also surfaced after his reaction to Dombrowski’s end-of-season remarks circulated last month. MLB.com‘s Todd Zolecki noted that the two spoke before the GM Meetings and reportedly cleared the air.
Dombrowski also highlighted where he views Harper defensively. The two-time MVP has said he would return to the outfield if the Phillies added a significant bat at first base, but the president of baseball operations reiterated that the club still views him as its everyday first baseman.
“We really appreciate that aspect of it, but we really look at him as a first baseman at this time,” Dombrowski told Zolecki. “He’s a good first baseman and he continues to get better. We really like our club with him there, so I think he is more of our first baseman.”
Schwarber drawing early interest, including from Boston
Kyle Schwarber’s free-agent market is already in motion.
MLB Network’s JonMorosi projected him as one of the earliest major free agents to sign, noting that the designated hitter’s market is “more defined” than others.
FanSided’s Robert Murray added that the Red Sox have interest, a logical fit given Schwarber’s impactful two-month stint in Boston in 2021 and their need for left-handed power.
The Phillies want him back, but the competition is very real.
Boras weighs in on Ranger Suárez’s market
Ranger Suárez hasn’t been a major topic early in free agency, but his agent Scott Boras made sure his name surfaced in Las Vegas.
“There’s no doubt that anyone that looks at the playoffs, the last three, four years,” he said. “If you’re interested in acquiring a postseason pitcher that has proven himself, I would suggest you don’t want to miss the Suarez postseason soiree.”
“Proven” might undersell it. Suárez owns a dominant 1.48 ERA across 42 2/3 postseason innings — one of the best playoff track records of any active starter.
A new name enters the trade landscape
A fresh wrinkle emerged when Dan Hayes of The Athletic shared that Byron Buxton may reconsider his no-trade clause if the Twins continue dismantling their roster.
There’s no direct Phillies link in the reporting, but in an offseason where right-handed outfield help is a priority, Buxton’s name adds another potential path.
The 32-year-old is coming off a career season: 35 homers, 83 RBIs, a .264/.327/.551 slash line, a perfect 24-for-24 on stolen bases and a Silver Slugger Award.
He’s owed just over $15 million annually for the next three seasons — a team-friendly structure that would fit many clubs, including the Phillies.
Mets closer Edwin Diaz earned himself some hardware at Thursday’s MLB Awards.
Diaz took home the 2025 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year award for the second time in his career and was named to the All-MLB Second Team.
He joins Josh Hader and Kenley Jansen as the only pitchers to win multiple NL Reliever of the Year awards.
This certainly doesn’t come as a surprise after the right-hander's spectacular season.
After a bit of a rocky return from injury, Diaz regained his dominant form and was once again one of the most trusted late-inning arms for Carlos Mendoza this season.
He finished fifth in the NL, locking down 28 of his 31 save opportunities.
The 31-year-old also pitched to a stellar 1.63 ERA and 0.87 WHIP while averaging 13.3 K/9.
Juan Soto grew close with Mets 1B coach Antoan Richardson last season.
From early in his first spring training with the club, Richardson made it a point of working with Soto to improve some of the weakest areas of his game -- outfield defense and baserunning.
All of that hard work the two put in certainly paid off.
Soto has long been one of MLB’s most prolific hitters, but with the help of Richardson, he added a new element to his game, finishing tied atop the National League with 38 stolen bases.
That more than doubled his career-high, which he tied two years ago in San Diego (12).
“We’ve put in a lot of work,” Soto said after joining the 30-30 club. “Antoan did an unbelievable job. He’s been helping me since Day 1, so I give all of the credit to him -- he’s the one who put me in this situation and in this spot to do what I’ve done.”
And it wasn’t just Soto who Richardson helped, as the Mets stole the fifth-most bases in baseball as a team (147) and were caught the second-fewest times (18).
But the two grew particularly close over the course of Soto's first season in orange and blue, so he was sad to see Richardson leave the organization for the division rival Braves last week.
“It was really sad,” he told reporters, including Newsday's Laura Albanese at the MLB Awards. “But you’ve got to understand it’s a business at the end of the day -- still the business of the game and you’ve got to take it like a man and move forward.”
New York still hasn’t filled Richardson’s spot on the coaching staff.
The Mets have a number of high-profile free agents they are looking to bring back, and Juan Soto is hoping New York brings back Pete Alonso and Starling Marte.
Speaking at the MLB Awards in Las Vegas on Thursday, Soto was asked about Alonso's free agency. The slugger is testing the open market for the second time in as many years. He eventually re-signed with the Mets this past February but opted out after putting together a bounce-back 2025, where he became the franchise's all-time leader in home runs.
The Alonso-Soto, 1-2 punch worked out for both players -- they combined to hit 81 home runs -- and Soto wants to run it back.
“I hope nothing but the best and I’m excited to see where he’s going to end up," Soto told the media, including The Post's Mike Puma. "He’s one of the best power hitters in this generation. I really enjoyed my moment with him in a Mets uniform and I hope we can have more times to come. We can have fun together.”
Marte may not get the headlines of Alonso or even Edwin Diaz, but the veteran outfielder is a free agent after four seasons in Flushing. Although his Mets tenure was marred by injuries, he was an All-Star in his first season with New York (2022) and was a solid player for them in 2025 as a bench hitter.
In 98 games, Marte slashed .270/.335/.410 with an OPS of .745 to go along with nine home runs and 34 RBI.
However, Soto cites Marte's leadership and presence in the locker room as big reasons the Mets should try and bring him back.
“You need a guy that helped you the most through those tough times and tried to bring the team back to where it’s supposed to be,” Soto said of Marte.
Whether or not the Mets have an appetite to sign the 37-year-old is unclear, but having an endorsement from your highest-paid player certainly doesn't hurt.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates as he runs for first on an RBI single in the sixth inning of the MLB National League Wild Card Game 2 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025.
Sam Greene/The Enquirer/Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Shohei Ohtani likes winning Most Valuable Player awards. He loves winning the World Series even more.
The two-way Japenese star did both for a second season in a row for the Los Angeles Dodgers, earning his fourth career MVP on Thursday night while unanimously earning the National League honor. He’s just the second to win four MVPs after Barry Bonds with seven and the only player to win unanimously more than once.
Considering Ohtani is 31, overtaking Bonds doesn’t seem out of the question. Especially if it leads to more Fall Classic opportunities.
“If I’m playing well as an individual that means I’m helping the team win, so in that sense, hopefully I can end up with a couple more MVPs,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about winning games.”
In the American League, Aaron Judge became the New York Yankees’ fourth three-time winner, edging Seattle’s Cal Raleigh with 17 first-place votes to 13 for the switch-hitting catcher. The vote was the closest for an MVP since the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout topped Houston’s Alex Bregman by 17-13 in 2019.
Judge, who won the AL award in 2022 and 2024, joined Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle as three-time MVPs with the Yankees. The 33-year-old outfielder led the majors with a .331 batting average and 1.144 OPS while hitting 53 homers.
When asked about his place in MLB and Yankees lore, Judge acknowledged he’s in rare company.
“It’s tough for me to wrap my head around,” Judge said. “It’s mind blowing from my side of things, because I play this game to win, I play this game for my teammates, my family, all the fans in New York.”
Later he added: “You’ve got to pinch yourself every single day. It’s truly an incredible honor.”
Ohtani won a MVP for the third straight year, his second in the NL with the Dodgers after two in the AL with the Angels. He became the first to win in each league twice after getting the AL honor in 2021 and 2023. Ohtani signed with the crosstown Dodgers the following offseason and won NL MVP in 2024 during his first season in Chavez Ravine. He’s also won the World Series in both his seasons with the Dodgers.
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber finished second in the NL with 23 second-place votes and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto was third with four.
Ohtani hit .282 and led the NL with a 1.014 OPS. He also had 55 homers, 102 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.
The right-hander returned to pitching in June after missing 1 1/2 seasons on the mound because of an elbow injury. He struck out 62 batters over 47 innings, slowly increasing his workload while preparing for the postseason.
Ohtani continued to shine in October with arguably the greatest single game in MLB history. He hit three homers while striking out 10 over six dominant innings on Oct. 17, leading the Dodgers over Milwaukee to finish an NL Championship Series sweep.
Schwarber, who earned a $50,000 bonus for finishing second, hit an NL-best 56 homers and led the big leagues with 132 RBIs for Philadelphia.
Soto overcame a slow start to the season to have his typically stellar offensive output. The four-time All-Star — who signed a $765 million, 15-year deal last December — had 43 homers, 105 RBIs and an NL-best 38 stolen bases. He received a $150,000 bonus for finishing third in the MVP voting.
Judge is the first AL player to win back-to-back MVPs since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera it in 2012 and 2013.
Raleigh, nicknamed “Big Dumper,” led the big leagues with 60 homers, the most for a player primarily a catcher. He started 119 games behind the plate and another 38 at designated hitter.
The 28-year-old also had a career-high 125 RBIs, leading the Mariners to one of their best seasons in franchise history. Judge said he got to know Raleigh a little during the All-Star break and the catcher asked for some leadership tips.
“Cal’s a special player,” Judge said. “I could sit here and talk all night about the player he is, but really the kind of leader and person he is really stuck out to me at the All-Star Game.”
Cleveland’s José Ramírez finished third in the AL.
Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo was fourth in the NL voting, earning him $2.5 million annual salary increases in 2028 and 2029 along with the price of Arizona’s 2030 club option.
The Mets are looking to retool their roster ahead of the 2026 season and that could mean moving one of their veteran players.
Jon Heyman of the NY Post reports Thursday that the Mets are "fielding trade inquiries" on Jeff McNeil.
McNeil, who underwent a procedure for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome earlier this offseason, is in the final guaranteed year of his contract. McNeil is reportedly expected to be ready for spring training, so his recent procedure may not deter teams looking to add in the trade market. The utility infielder -- and sometimes outfielder -- is owed $15.75 million in 2026.
This isn't the first time the Mets have been listening to potential trades for McNeil. SNY's Andy Martino reported in late July ahead of the trade deadline that the Mets were listening on several players, including McNeil.
With an expiring contract and at 33 years old, McNeil has value for a team looking for a versatile veteran. McNeil had a solid 2025 in various roles for the Mets. He played 122 games and slashed .243/.335/.411 with an OPS of .746 -- his highest since his batting title season in 2022.
But where McNeil flourished for New York was his versatility. He played five different positions this past season, giving manager Carlos Mendoza flexibility to play his younger players while also giving others a break, especially when injuries arose. He manned second base 79 times while playing center field in 34 games in 2025.
However, president of baseball operations David Stearns has already come out and said he expects McNeil to play less center field in the upcoming season.
As for the infield, the Mets are stocked with them. Although Pete Alonso is a free agent, and could still return, the Mets have Brett Baty likely to start at third base with Francisco Lindor playing shortstop.
That leaves Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuna and Ronny Mauricio fighting for playing time in the infield. And that's not to mention prospects like Jett Williams, who could break through this spring or during the season.
Even after opting out of the two remaining guaranteed years in his deal with the Mets to hit free agency, the All-Star closer would like to find his way back to Queens next season.
With him set to test the open market, though, that doesn’t appear to be a lock.
Speaking with reporters at the MLB Awards on Thursday, Diaz put the odds of a return at an even 50-50.
There have already been some talks between his representation and the Mets about a potential new contract, but concrete details haven’t been discussed.
Diaz says that he is simply looking for the best deal possible for his family.
"I love New York. I would love to stay in New York, but if I have to go another place, I would be happy," Diaz told reporters, including Newday's Laura Albanese. "I want to win a ring, so wherever I go, I want to win a ring and enjoy the time.
"I like the organization. You know, if they came with the best deal for me, I’d enjoy to stay with them, but at the end of the day, I don’t know what they’re thinking."
The 31-year-old was once again Carlos Mendoza’s most-trusted late-inning arm this season, pitching to a 1.63 ERA and 0.87 WHIP while striking out 98 batters and locking down 28 saves.
This week at the MLB GM Meetings, David Stearns said that he’d love to have both Diaz and Pete Alonso back rocking orange and blue next season, but it’s too early to predict how things will play out.
"We love both Pete and Edwin. They've been great representatives of the organization," Stearns said. "We'd love to have them both back. At this stage of the offseason, it’s really tough to predict any outcomes, but certainly, we would love to have both those guys back."
The Mets did extend Diaz the qualifying offer, but he will most certainly decline that before Tuesday's deadline.
For the third time in the past four years, the Yankee captain is the American League MVP. Judge edged out Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh by securing 17 of 30first-place votes. It was the closest balloting for an MVP award since 2019, when Mike Trout defeated Alex Bregman by the same total voting margin of 355-335. This year’s tight race was a product of Raleigh’s historic season for a backstop and yet another dominant offensive campaign from Judge.
In many MLB seasons, Raleigh would have been a runaway winner. The switch-hitting Mariner clocked 60 home runs, 13 more than the previous record for a catcher. He simultaneously helmed a Seattle pitching staff that waded through a fair share of injuries, guiding the club to its first AL West title in over two decades. Raleigh even found time to win the Home Run Derby. By all measures, it was a special year.
But Judge, in the end, was too much for even Raleigh to overcome.
The 33-year-old outfielder is now the third player in MLB history to win three MVP awards in a four-year span, joining Barry Bonds and 2025 NL MVP Shohei Ohtani.
Judge’s season didn’t feature any sexy round numbers, home run chases or significant career milestones. Sure he flirted with a .400 average into June and captured his first career batting title with a .331 mark. But Judge’s 2025 season — ever so slightly worse than his 2024 season — was brilliant for, above all else, its consistency.
On Opening Day against the Milwaukee Brewers, Judge went 1-for-4 with a double, giving him a .250 average and .750 OPS . The next day, against a Brewers pitching staff so depleted that it unleashed the frenzied Torpedo Bat craze, Judge went 4-for-6 with three homers. From that point forward, his batting average never dropped below .300 and his OPS never dropped below 1.000. At no point did he slump as Judge never went three consecutive games without a hit.
Judge finished the year with a preposterous 1.144 OPS, a figure that led the American League by a whopping 185 points over Blue Jays DH George Springer in second place. Besides Raleigh’s tally of 60 home runs, Judge paced the American League in every significant rate-based statistical category. He was not just the best; he was the best by an overwhelming margin.
The OPS gap between Judge and Springer in second place was the same between Springer and Jarren Duran’s .774 OPS all the way down in 33rd in the AL. And for good measure, Judge improved significantly as an outfielder in 2025, according to most advanced defensive metrics. He is running a different race, playing a different game, obliterating the competition at every turn.
And that’s why, despite Raleigh’s unforgettably singular season, Judge is taking home the hardware for the third time in his career.
This third MVP all but secures Judge a place in Cooperstown. All the other three-time winners are either in the Hall of Fame (Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Mike Schmidt), not yet eligible (Shohei Ohtani, Albert Pujols, Mike Trout) or would be first-ballot shoo-ins if not for alleged PED use (Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez).
There is a strong case to be made that Judge is the single greatest right-handed hitter in the sport’s history, or, at the very least, after integration. His 179 OPS+ is the highest career mark for a righty since integration. Only 10 other hitters (Trout, Mark McGwire, Dick Allen, Frank Thomas, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Manny Ramírez, Frank Robinson, Ralph Kiner and DiMaggio) are even above 150.
Put differently, Judge is the type of hitter so unavoidably good that he supersedes seasons like the one Raleigh just put up. It’s yet another data point on Judge’s résumé as one of the best sluggers to ever play the game. There remains a gaping void in his trophy case; that ever-elusive first World Series title. But as this October showed us, one locked-in dynamo cannot carry a franchise alone. Judge dominated this postseason and it made little difference.
Whether or not his autumn moment ever comes is to be determined. It is, for the most part, beyond Judge’s control. He seems to have come to accept that humbling reality. And instead of stressing about his legacy and the understandably high standards of YankeeLand, Judge has directed that focus and intensity into his craft.
Cal Raleigh put up offensive numbers never before seen by a catcher, but it wasn't enough to win a tight MVP battle with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. (Kyle Cooper/Getty Images)
Kyle Cooper/Colorado Rockies via Getty Images
The spectacular season of Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has arrived at its highly anticipated, hotly debated conclusion, as one last storyline needed finalizing with Thursday’s announcement of the 2025 American League Most Valuable Player award.
From early summer when the historic home run barrage began until mid-October as the Mariners sojourned deeper into the postseason than they ever had before, raucous chants extolling Raleigh’s case for MVP could be heard at T-Mobile Park with regularity, and even in road cities as traveling Seattle fans showered their franchise anchor with praise for his sensational performance.
While his top competition for the award, Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, delivered yet another outlier season of epic offensive performance, Raleigh’s candidacy was rooted in unprecedented production from a position that so rarely yields such lofty statistical totals. Add in Raleigh’s substantial workload and positive impact on Seattle’s pitching staff as a defender behind the plate — particularly in relation to Judge, who started just 95 games in right field for the Yankees — and Raleigh’s most ardent advocates insisted that his case as AL MVP was as clear as day.
In the end, those cries for official validation were ultimately left unheard by the BBWAA electorate, with the voting results showing that Raleigh narrowly came up short, finishing runner-up to Judge, who garnered 17 of 30 first-place votes to claim the award for the third time in four years, further strengthening his legacy as one of the greatest right-handed hitters of all time.
Though Raleigh ultimately fell short in securing the league’s annual top honor — an outcome far more reflective of Judge’s greatness than any obvious Raleigh shortcoming — it does not take much if anything away from his campaign, one that saw the switch-hitting catcher set home run records in multiple categories while powering the Mariners to their first AL West title in nearly a quarter-century.
Raleigh had already earned local legend status as early as 2022, when his pinch-hit walk-off home run clinched Seattle’s first playoff berth in 21 years. He continued to improve once cementing himself as the Mariners’ everyday backstop, showcasing impressive power relative to his positional peers and excelling especially behind the dish, earning Gold Glove honors in 2024. He even garnered some lower-level MVP support along the way, snagging a ninth-place vote in 2023 and five down-ballot votes in 2024. But he had still yet to make an All-Star team entering 2025, and his overall production at the plate was still more good than great, with a 116 wRC+ that ranked 49th among 115 qualified hitters from 2023-2024.
While Raleigh had quietly, if indisputably, already become one of the best all-around backstops in baseball, the broader recognition of his impact remained limited. In another timeline, Raleigh could have realistically settled in as a well-kept secret of sorts, an understated star who shined most brightly within the confines of his medium market. But in 2025, Raleigh’s profile exploded beyond the Pacific Northwest, where national stardom has historically been hard to come by.
It began shortly before Opening Day, when Raleigh and the Mariners agreed to a six-year, $105M extension. It marked a significant long-term partnership between player and team, but it also made headlines beyond Seattle for its magnitude. Very few catchers have landed nine-figure contracts, as the rigorous physical demands of the position often portend troublingly steep declines, and the average offensive output of even the best catchers in the game rarely resemble that of the elite players at other positions.
Raleigh joined Mauer, Posey, and Will Smith as the only catchers to agree to an extension worth more than $100M guaranteed, an exceptional peer group that in turn helped hint at what Raleigh might mean for the Mariners moving forward. Of course, even with the elevated expectations that came along with the hefty extension, no one could have foreseen the degree to which Raleigh would immediately validate Seattle’s decision to invest heavily in him as a franchise cornerstone.
It started slowly, with Raleigh going 1-for-12 in the opening four-game series against the Athletics. But Raleigh’s prolific power started to surface not long after, as he launched his first homer of the season on March 31 against Detroit and cracked another a week later in San Francisco. When the Mariners collected their first sweep of the season in mid-April at home against the Rangers, Raleigh homered in all three games. When Raleigh smacked two more homers at Texas on May 2, he found himself all alone atop the league’s home run leaderboard nearly one-fifth of the way through the season. An eight-game stretch without a long ball followed that game at Globe Life Park — the longest such “drought” of Raleigh’s season — but after that, the homers resumed raining down, often coming in bunches.
He added 14 homers over his next 24 games. A six-homers-in-six-games burst in late June brought his total to 32, rapidly approaching the career-high of 34 he had set the year prior. That hot week also raised his OPS to 1.049, the high watermark for his season, exemplifying his overall offensive impact beyond merely how many balls were leaving the yard.
As the stats continued to soar, July widened the spotlight on Raleigh even further as he was named the American League’s starting catcher for the All-Star Game and invited to participate in the Home Run Derby. Raleigh won the Derby with an incredibly steady performance that simultaneously showcased his stamina and slugging prowess, hitting 17 homers in Round 1, 19 in Round 2, and 18 in the finals to topple the electric Rays infielder Junior Caminero to claim the crown and fulfill the prophecy set forth in a hilarious home video from his youth: He was, indeed, the Home Run Derby Champ.
A memorable All-Star week in Atlanta behind him, Raleigh dutifully returned to his regular season mission as Seattle jockeyed for position in the fierce American League playoff race. More opportunities for Raleigh’s newfound stardom to manifest would come — the Mariners traveled to Williamsport, Pa. for the Little League Classic, where Raleigh was one of the biggest celebrities among the next generation of ballplayers and hit his 47th homer of the season in front of the crowd of Little Leaguers — but he remained focused on the task at hand of contributing to Seattle’s push for the postseason.
Naturally, Raleigh’s continued excellence went hand-in-hand with Seattle’s successful chase of Houston in the AL West standings, coming from as far as seven games back on July 10 to eventually becoming division champs. During the Mariners’ momentous September sweep of the Astros at Daikin Park to seize sole possession of first place, Raleigh hit home runs No. 57 and 58, surpassing Ken Griffey Jr.’s previously held single-season franchise record of 56 — this, just days after Raleigh had broken Mickey Mantle’s record for most homers by a switch-hitter in a single season, and weeks after surpassing Salvador Perez’s mark for most homers by a catcher.
Three days later, Raleigh hit two more homers against the Rockies — his 11th multi-homer game of the season, tying an MLB record held by 1938 Hank Greenberg, 1998 Sammy Sosa, and 2022 Aaron Judge — to arrive at a staggering 60.
Sixty home runs! To watch any hitter reach this titanic threshold is astonishing on its own, as only six major-leaguers have previously done so: three with heavy ties to performance-enhancing drugs (Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa) and three iconic Yankees (Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Judge). But for that exclusive club featuring five outfielders and a first baseman to gain an unlikely seventh member in Raleigh — who caught 1,072 innings during his march to 60 homers — is downright mind-boggling.
So how did he do it? Look below the surface of the eye-popping final totals, and Raleigh’s humongous uptick in homers can largely be attributed to two key improvements. The first involved something that Raleigh was already quite adept at: hitting the ball in the air, particularly to the pull side. This is a skill that has become increasingly prioritized in the modern game as teams look to optimize hitters’ ability to slug, and elevating the ball often to the pull side is a good way to do that.
Over the previous three seasons, Raleigh’s 29.8% pull-air percentage ranked third in MLB, behind only Isaac Paredes and Byron Buxton, and just ahead of Max Muncy and Jose Ramirez — all hitters who do an excellent job of translating their power into consistent production. In 2025, Raleigh ratcheted up the pulled fly balls even further, spiking to 38.4%, just a hair below Paredes atop the league leaderboard. Look at overall airborne contact, and Raleigh’s season stands out even further: his 25.1% ground ball rate was the lowest for a qualified hitter since Mike Trout in 2019 (24.3%), when Trout hit a career-high 45 home runs and won AL MVP.
Making even more airborne contact certainly contributed to Raleigh’s record-setting totals. But even more vital to unlocking increased production across the board was how much better he got batting right-handed. Until this year, the switch-hitting Raleigh was markedly more productive when stepping into the box as a left-handed hitter. Across 413 career plate appearances batting righty before this season, Raleigh had hit .202/.271/.410 with 20 home runs. In 2025, Raleigh hit .281/.351/.681 across 205 right-handed plate appearances with 22 home runs. This drastic upgrade is what fueled Raleigh’s evolution into more than just a home run threat, but an all-around offensive force: Raleigh’s 161 wRC+ ranked fourth in MLB among qualified bats.
The home runs, however, remained the headline, and understandably so. And though Raleigh did not homer again over the final four regular season games to draw closer to Judge’s American League record of 62, he was far from done rounding the bases in 2025. He homered in ALDS Game 3 in Detroit, directly to a Mariners fan wearing a “DUMP 61 HERE,” a nod to Raleigh’s beloved “Big Dumper” moniker and the hope that his home run total would continue to climb in October — the kind of improbable sequence that only added to the lore of his season. Four more homers followed during Seattle’s clash with Toronto in the ALCS, including a crucial game-tying blast as part of the Mariners’ memorable eighth inning in Game 5, and one final long ball in the fifth inning of Game 7, which turned out to be the final run scored by the Mariners in 2025 — a fitting, if unfulfilling conclusion to Seattle’s season.
With Raleigh and the Mariners having come up painfully short of reaching the World Series for the first time in franchise history, Raleigh winning AL MVP would have been a solid consolation for a fan base that was eager to see their beloved backstop take home the hardware. But regardless of how a small selection of BBWAA voters opted to cast their ballots, Raleigh’s 2025 campaign will undoubtedly sustain for years to come as one of the most astounding displays of all-around performance the game has ever seen.
Yankees captain Aaron Judge is still chasing that elusive first championship, but he needs to create some space in his trophy room for yet another piece of esteemed hardware.
Judge's latest historic season was formally recognized on Thursday, as he received American League MVP honors for a second straight season and the third time in four years.
While the decision among BBWAA members wasn't unanimous -- like last season's results -- Judge earned 17 first-place votes to beat out Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (13 first-place votes) and the Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez.
"Aaron has been playing in rarified air for much of his career," Yankees GM Brian Cashman said in a statement. "His devotion to his craft, his continuous pursuit of excellence, and the importance he places on being a teammate who can be counted on help define his legacy just as much as his three MVP Awards.
“He is a once-in-a-generation player who embodies so much of what is good about our game. Aaron is being celebrated again tonight, and rightfully so. He has blossomed into one of sports’ greatest superstars.”
“I know I say this often when meeting with our media throughout the season, but I don’t ever want to become desensitized by the consistency and the enormity of his accomplishments," manager Aaron Boone added. "It’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to use words to capture how good he is. He’s just playing at a higher level, and has been for quite some time.
“It has been an absolute privilege to watch Aaron’s ascension. He’s already fashioned a career that matches up with the all-time greats. I see it every single day – and I think it’s critical to acknowledge the work that Aaron puts in to maintain this inconceivable level of excellence as a player.
“While we are in awe of everything he does between the lines, he is beloved in our clubhouse for how he embraces his role as captain, prioritizing the needs and success of the team above himself. I am thrilled to see Aaron acknowledged again in this way. Congratulations AJ!”
In spite of fervent debate on who deserved the award most, the exceptional heights that Judge reached in 2025 were impossible to dismiss. He became the tallest batting champion in baseball history, posting a laudable .331 average in 152 regular-season games. The 33-year-old slugger also led the majors in WAR (9.7) and OPS (1.144), and ranked second in runs (137), total bases (372), extra-base hits (85), and intentional walks (36).
Judge surprisingly didn't finish first in home runs -- Raleigh impressively hit 60, setting a new single-season record for catchers -- but his 53 long balls pushed his career tally to 368, and he became just the third player ever to win the batting title with 50-plus homers (Jimmie Foxx, 1936; Mickey Mantle, 1956). Judge is also the fourth player in history to produce four 50-homer seasons.
While the Yankees were unable to defend the AL pennant, Judge's postseason numbers were exemplary. He naturally carried the lineup, slashing a robust .500/.581/.692 with seven RBI across 26 at-bats (seven games).
His lone playoff homer also kept the Yankees' season alive. Facing elimination to the Blue Jays in Game 3 of the ALDS, he hit a mammoth game-tying shot off the left-field foul pole that sent the Yankee Stadium crowd into a frenzy.
Judge's knack for clutch hits was once again showcased, as he led MLB in on-base percentage (.513) and OPS (1.154) with runners in scoring position. He reached base multiple times in a career-high 101 games, and three-plus times in a league-best 51 games. Judge didn't slow down at the plate while the MVP conversations intensified, either -- over his final 30 games, he hit a whopping .374 with 13 homers and 21 RBI (99 at-bats).
The signs of Judge authoring a third MVP season were apparent during the spring. He was named AL Player of the Month for March/April and May, and by the middle of July, he made his seventh career All-Star Game appearance. Judge led baseball in OPS by 130 points and slugging by 66 points.
Judge will enter his age-34 season in 2026 with a chance to write another unique chapter in MLB history -- no AL player has ever won three consecutive MVP awards.
The Yankees captain wasn't the only one in pinstripes to receive MVP votes this year.
Cody Bellinger finished 14th in AL MVP voting after receiving one sixth-place vote, one ninth-place vote and one 10th-place vote.
Mets star Juan Soto has finished third in NL MVP voting.
Soto comes in behind Shohei Ohtani, who took home the award unanimously, and Kyle Schwarber.
The star outfielder received four second-place votes, 15 third-place, nine fourth-place, and two fifth-place.
Despite the third-place finish, Soto certainly made a very compelling case to be among the top three in voting.
The 27-year-old was able to overcome a slow start to put together a tremendous first season in orange and blue.
He broke his career-high in homers set last season in the Bronx, finishing third in the NL with 43.
Soto drove in 105 runs and drew a league-high 127 walks to help him finish with a .396 OBP and .921 OPS.
He also added a new dimension to his game, swiping a new career-best 38 bases, which was tied for the NL lead and was just two away from the first 40-40 season in franchise history.
This is Soto's third time being an MVP finalist and his sixth top-10 finish across eight big-league seasons.
Additionally, Francisco Lindor put together his fourth straight top-10 finish, ending up 10th in voting.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, standing on stage at the Dodgers' World Series victory celebration at Dodger Stadium, was named the most valuable player of his league for the fourth time. (Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
When it came to Major League Baseball’s history of the most valuable player award, there used to be Barry Bonds — then everyone else.
Over his 22-year career, Bonds won baseball’s highest individual honor a record seven times. Before this year, no one else had more than three.
But, like Bonds, accomplishing things no one else can has become the defining trait of Shohei Ohtani’s rise to superstardom.
And on Thursday, his career was elevated another notch higher, as he was named MVP for the fourth time by unanimous vote from the Baseball Writers Assn. of America to join Bonds in an exclusive club of winners with more than three.
Like his three previous wins, which also came via unanimous vote, Ohtani was a virtual lock. As a hitter alone he led the National League by a wide margin in OPS (1.014) and slugging percentage (.622), was second in on-base percentage (.392) and, despite being outside the top 10 in batting average (.282, ranking 13th), set a career high with 55 home runs, trailing only Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber for the crown. His 7.5 wins above replacement, according to Fangraphs, just outpaced Arizona's Geraldo Perdomo and Philadelphia's Trea Turner for most in the league.
And then there was his pitching.
In perhaps the most impressive aspect of his season, Ohtani returned from a second Tommy John surgery — the kind of procedure only a handful of pitchers have fully rebounded from — and flashed almost every bit of his dominant form despite missing the previous year and a half on the mound.
In 14 starts he had a 2.87 ERA, the second-lowest of his career. And though his gradual buildup process meant he logged only 47 regular-season innings, he managed to strike out 62 batters, pumping 100-mph fastballs, big-bending sweepers and hard-biting splitters en route to playing a key part in the Dodgers’ postseason rotation.
“Because I was rehabbing from TJ and also had surgery on my left shoulder [last offseason], a lot of the focus was to be able to get back to the mound and be able to pitch,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “So I think in that sense, this year the difficulty was more on the pitching side.”
The most impressive moments of Ohtani’s season came in the playoffs, when he helped the Dodgers to a second consecutive World Series title. He hit two home runs in the postseason opener. He authored an all-time performance in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, hitting three home runs while striking out 10 over six scoreless innings to win NLCS MVP. He followed that up by collecting four extra-base hits and reaching safely a postseason-record nine times in the Dodgers’ 18-inning victory in Game 3 of the World Series.
Thursday’s MVP award, however, was a recognition of the production Ohtani posted to simply help the Dodgers reach October. It was a reminder of the sustained excellence he has maintained over the last half-decade. And it put him in territory only Bonds had occupied, as he continues to build his case for being the greatest player in history.
“The biggest thing is obviously being able to win the World Series, that’s first and foremost,” Ohtani said. “It’s icing on the cake to get an individual award and be crowned MVP. But I just really want to appreciate the support from all my teammates, everyone around me, my supporting staff.”
Before this season, Ohtani shared some select company as a three-time MVP. Two of his old Angels teammates, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, had done it. So too had Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Jimmie Foxx, Mike Schmidt and Alex Rodriguez.
Only Bonds had surpassed that total. He won three MVPs in a four-year span with the Pittsburgh Pirates early in his career (1990-93), then four straight (2001-04) during the height of his powers with the San Francisco Giants.
What Ohtani has done in his last five seasons, in which he has collected all four of his MVPs, rivals those stretches as perhaps the most dominant run MLB has seen.
There was his breakout campaign in 2021, when he proved his two-way capabilities could translate to the majors by amassing 46 home runs and 100 RBIs as a hitter, and a 3.18 ERA with 156 strikeouts as a pitcher. There was his encore in 2023, when he followed up a runner-up finish to Aaron Judge the previous year by posting his best offensive numbers (an MLB-high 44 home runs, MLB-leading 1.066 OPS and first .300 batting average) even in a year cut short by injuries.
Since signing with the Dodgers, Ohtani has kept it going.
Even without pitching last year, he won his third unanimous MVP by achieving MLB’s first 50-homer, 50-steal season while also setting career highs with 130 RBIs and a .310 batting average. That made him the first primary designated hitter to claim the honor, and he joined Frank Robinson as the second player to win MVP in both leagues.
This year there was once again little drama in the voting, as Ohtani edged fellow finalists Schwarber and Juan Soto of the New York Mets, who finished second and third, respectively.
Given that Ohtani will return to a more normal pitching schedule next year, he almost certainly will enter 2026 as the MVP favorite once more. He will try to match another Bonds mark by winning the award in four consecutive years.
Once upon a time, replicating that feat felt borderline impossible.
For Ohtani, however, history keeps coming with no end in sight.
