Category: Baseball

The Mets' offense this year has been hit or miss, often dragged down by a bottom of the lineup that hasn't offered much support.

The top of the order -- "The Fab Four" as Steve Cohen recently dubbed them, borrowing the nickname of The Beatles -- is beastly.

Featuring Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso, the Mets have a quartet that can create offense in a flash, as they did last Tuesday against the Orioles while erasing a four-run eighth-inning deficit, and again late in the game this past Friday against the Royals in Kansas City.

But the Mets need more.

It could come in the form of someone like Mark Vientos stepping up and/or Francisco Alvarez finding his power stroke when he returns from Triple-A Syracuse.

It could also come via trade.

The Mets' biggest needs right now are in center field (Tyrone Taylor has a .580 OPS) and third base (where none of the Mets' young, homegrown players have been able to fully seize the opportunity).

So, should New York swing a trade for slugging Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez?

PROS

Suarez has been a total menace power-wise this year, slashing .250/.320/.569 with 31 home runs, 18 doubles, and 78 RBI in 391 plate appearances over 95 games.

He leads the National League in RBI, and is behind only Cal Raleigh (82) and Aaron Judge (81) in all of baseball.

Suarez's 31 homers are fourth-most in baseball, trailing Raleigh (38), Judge (35), and Shohei Ohtani (32).

While this season's power surge is enormous even by Suarez's standards, he has cemented himself as one of the most reliable home run hitters in baseball over the last decade.

He has averaged 32 homers per 162 games during his career, has eclipsed 30 homers in a season six times, and has a 49-homer season on his ledger (coming in 2019 with the Reds). So a lot more thunder should be expected from him in the second half.

Suarez would also fill a void at third base, though his defense there leaves a lot to be desired (more on that below).

One of the most important things about Suarez is that he's set to become a free agent after the season, so the cost to acquire him should be relatively low.

That doesn't mean the Mets or another team wouldn't have to part with a prospect or two of value, but it's impossible to envision New York having to trade any of their top eight or nine prospects for him.

CONS

There are two negatives that stick out when it comes to Suarez -- his defense and his propensity to strike out.

Suarez has already fanned 105 times in 95 games this season, and is on pace to finish the year with 175 K's. He fanned 176 times last season after striking out 214 times in 2023 and 196 times in 2022.

His defense is also subpar -- Suarez has been worth -4 Outs Above Average at third base this season, putting him in the ninth percentile.

This should be a less important aspect, but trading for Suarez would also likely mean a lot less playing time for Ronny Mauricio and Brett Baty -- plus defenders at third base who have showed flashes at the plate, but not enough consistency.

It would be surprising if the Mets don't swing a trade for a center fielder to replace Taylor in the lineup. And if New York trades for a center fielder, it would force Jeff McNeil to second base on a regular basis.

Add Suarez or another third baseman to the mix, and the playing time for Mauricio and Baty dries up -- with Vientos likely a main designated hitter option along with Jesse Winker upon his return.

But in a season where the Mets are trying to win a World Series, they can't (and won't) let a few months of lost playing time for Mauricio or Baty stop them from obtaining a game-changing bat like Suarez.

VERDICT

For a return that shouldn't hurt that much, New York would get one of the best power hitters in baseball without any commitment beyond this season.

Suarez would provide serious thump beyond the top four, an answer at third base, and allow the Mets to have more options to DH. This should be an easy yes.

Giants' Oracle Park reportedly a frontrunner for 2028 MLB All-Star Game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The MLB All-Star Game festivities soon could return to Third and King.

If MLB and the Players Association agree to allow players to compete in the 2028 Olympics, San Francisco is a frontrunner to host the All-Star Game that year, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reported Tuesday, citing a league source.

According to Slusser, if MLB players are allowed to compete in the Olympics, both the league and the union reportedly would prefer a West Coast destination for the All-Star Game in order for the participants to be able to easily travel to Los Angeles, where the Summer Olympics baseball tournament will be held.

Slusser also reported that the momentum appears to be in favor of allowing MLB players to compete in the 2028 Olympics.

The other West Coast options include Petco Park in San Diego and T-Mobile Park in Seattle — both of which have hosted the All-Star Game more recently than Oracle Park — and Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, which, according to Slusser, is not in consideration. It is unclear if Angel Stadium in Anaheim is a likely option.

Following this year’s event at Truist Park in Atlanta, the All-Star Game will be played at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park in 2026 and Chicago’s Wrigley Field in 2027.

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In 2021, Times columnist Bill Plaschke incurred the wrath of Atlanta by blaspheming the entertainment district surrounding the Braves’ ballpark as a “sterile shopping mall.” The district, called The Battery, prefers the grand descriptor of “the South’s preeminent lifestyle destination.”

Let’s take a walk around The Battery, so you can understand why it could become one of the flash points in the coming holy war between owners and players.

If you leave the ballpark through the right-field gates, you are in The Battery. You’ll see a plaza in front of you, and around you places to ride a mechanical bull, go bowling, navigate an escape room or take in a concert.

You can eat, drink, shop, dance, stay in a hotel. You can live here, in apartments above the storefronts. You can work here, in office towers housing corporate giants.

“To create an environment where you can spend eight, nine hours at The Battery and the field, and still feel like you have all the time in the world, I think they’ve done a wonderful job building this place,” Dodgers and former Braves All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman said.

The Braves built all this, not only to lure fans to come early and stay late on game days but to make money from the property 365 days a year rather than 81. On that front, it is a spectacular success: Nine million people come here each year, and the Braves generated $67 million in revenue from The Battery last year.

This, according to major league officials, is the template for the modern team. The Angels had planned a ballpark village twice as large as The Battery. Imagine what the Dodgers could build, and how much revenue they could generate, on property twice as large as the Angel Stadium site.

And, speaking of revenue, Rob Manfred has something he likes to say to players about it. The MLB commissioner spoke at the Braves’ Investor Day last month and said he tells players that their share of the sport’s revenue has dropped from 63% in 2002 to 47% today.

Baseball is the only major sport in America without a salary cap system, in which owners agree to spend a designated percentage of revenue on player salaries.

“If we had made a deal 10 years ago to share 50-50, you would’ve made $2.5 billion more than you made,” Manfred said he has told players, in comments first reported by Sports Business Journal.

Read more:Jacob Misiorowski is the talk of the All-Star Game. Why Dodgers are partially to thank

The players and their union rolled their collective eyes at those comments. It is no secret that many owners want a salary cap, and the cost certainty that comes with it.

“It’s all tactics,” Dodgers All-Star catcher Will Smith said. “It’s all early negotiating stuff.”

Said Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star outfielder Corbin Carroll: “Owners don’t want to put money in our pockets. For them to emphasize how we need this so much, there’s a reason for that.”

Tony Clark, the union’s executive director, said the revenue numbers the league shares with the union are not consistent with Manfred’s statements. And, when you consider a percentage of revenue, you have to define what counts as revenue: What goes into the pool to be shared with players?

So let’s go back to The Battery, and to the revenue opportunities that such ballpark villages create for teams.

A report released in April by Klutch Sports, the Los Angeles-based agency, called such villages “the sports industry’s $100+ billion growth engine,” particularly as media revenue wanes. Within the pitch to team owners: Those villages “generate attractive financial returns that stand outside of league revenue sharing requirements.”

Translation: You can make all these millions without sharing any of it with the players.

The Braves are building here because the team plays here. That is the new issue looming over the next round of collective bargaining: If a team builds around its ballpark, should that revenue be shared with players?

“Oh yeah,” Athletics All-Star designated hitter Brent Rooker said. “Revenue is just any dollar that teams bring in that ultimately could be turned around and used to put a better product on the field. It’s got to include tickets, TV, concessions, all the things around the stadium. It’s got to include all of it.”

Read more:Agent: Julio Urías has 'every intention to continue his career'

Is the money a team makes from renting office space outside the ballpark really relevant to the team?

Here’s what Braves president and chief executive Derek Schiller told ESPN about The Battery: “You've got a whole other set of revenues from the real estate development that can then be deployed for the baseball team.”

I asked Clark whether, if negotiations turn to the possibility of revenue sharing along the lines Manfred discussed, the money from ballpark villages needs to be part of the conversation.

“Yes,” Clark said.

He declined to elaborate. Understand this about Clark: He can filibuster a yes or no question into a 45-second monologue without actually answering yes or no. That he would say a clear “yes” and nothing else leaves no doubt about his position.

Read more:Hernández: MLB can’t afford to miss out on Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge in Home Run Derby

If the players do ask that owners share revenue from such ballpark villages, the response would be predictable: First, we share baseball revenue from baseball operations, and real estate developments are not baseball operations. Second, if you want to share in the revenue, you can share in the risk too, by helping to fund construction of the ballpark village, say, or by assuming some of the losses when a tenant drops its lease and leaves storefronts or office buildings unoccupied.

Said Carroll: “I think that’s a conversation that won’t need to happen, because it won’t get to that point. A salary cap is a nonstarter from the union’s perspective.”

Enjoy the All-Star Game Tuesday, because this summer is one of relative peace. The collective bargaining agreement expires after next season, which means the rhetoric between players and owners ought to be flying this time next year. If the owners insist on pushing a salary cap, a lockout almost certainly would follow.

And, if the owners push revenue sharing, The Battery could provide the push for the players’ pushback.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Giants release former top prospects Vaun Brown, Jairo Pomares from Double-A originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants parted ways with two former top prospects.

San Francisco released outfielders Vaun Brown and Jairo Pomares from its Double-A Richmond roster on Monday, per the Flying Squirrels’ transaction wire. (h/t FanSided’s Jeff Young)

Brown, the Giants’ No. 5 prospect in 2023, according to MLB Pipeline, batted .248/.339/.286 with zero home runs, seven RBI and 14 stolen bases in 122 combined plate appearances across rookie-ball, High-A and Double-A levels this season.

The speedy 27-year-old outfielder, a 10th-round draft pick by the Giants in 2021, had a breakout 2022 minor league season, slashing .346/.437/.623 with 23 homers and 44 stolen bases across three levels. But he did not advance past the Double-A level in five minor-league seasons with San Francisco.

Pomares, signed by the Giants as an international free agent in 2018, batted .209/.268/.352 with nine home runs, 34 RBI and nine stolen bases in 299 plate appearances with Double-A Richmond this season.

The 24-year-old outfielder was the Giants’ No. 7 prospect in 2022, according to MLB Pipeline.

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Giants make interesting selections with 16 picks on Day 2 of 2025 MLB Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Every scout has a story about the time he went in to see one promising prospect and ended up blown away by a teammate. As the Giants prepared for the 2025 MLB Draft, they kept finding themselves drawn to teammates who were dominating at the same school in the Boston area. 

The organization selected 16 players on the second day of the draft, and three came from Northeastern University, including sixth- and seventh-rounders Jordan Gottesman and Cameron Maldonado. Amateur scouting director Michael Holmes said his department was drawn to the standouts in part because of how successful the program was this year. Northeastern went 49-11 and reached the NCAA Regional. 

“Obviously when you run guys in to see Northeastern, we’re scouting every guy on the field,” Holmes said. “Our area scout, Carmen Carcone, did an amazing job with his entire area this year, but especially with that Northeastern club. They were a really good team.”

Gottesman, a left-hander, was the staff ace, posting a 2.27 ERA and holding opponents to a .185 average. 

“He’s a pitchability lefty with really solid velocity and he’s an excellent strike-thrower,” Holmes said. “He was able to eat a lot of innings this year, which lets you know there was a durability aspect to him. It was a really effective four-pitch mix with a really strong slider.”

Holmes said the Giants first were drawn to Maldonado, a right-handed-hitting outfielder, when they saw him in the Cape Cod League. He hit .351 last season with 15 homers and 29 stolen bases.

“He’s a really athletic kid,” Holmes said. “It’s a power-speed combo in center field.”

The final Northeastern pick came in the 18th round, when the Giants selected 6-foot-8 right-hander Cooper McGrath, who likely is to be a reliever as a professional. With their first selection Monday, the Giants took Stetson infielder Lorenzo Meola. In the 10th round, they took his teammate, Isaiah Barkett. Meola hit .304 in three seasons at Stetson. 

“He has high contact skills and he showed power this year,” Holmes said. “You get a shortstop who touches the baseball, has some power, has the plus athleticism — we’re really lucky to have him.”

One of the most interesting picks Monday came in the 11th round, when the Giants selected Saddleback College catcher Rod Barajas Jr., the son of a catcher who played 14 big league seasons. The father played against Holmes in the minors and president of baseball operations Buster Posey in the big leagues, and also worked with special assistant Sam Geaney when the two were in San Diego’s front office. Barajas Jr. hit .329 last season. 

“He’s a guy that all of our scouts, when they went in, they saw him and they liked him,” Holmes said. “We loved his bat potential, we loved his ability to swing it, we liked his (swing) path, we think there’s huge upside with the bat, we think the (defense) is on the come and there are skills about him to be an everyday guy. 

“He’s a guy we definitely got excited about. He’s kind of one of those guys that your scouts keep reminding you all week, don’t forget about this guy, don’t forget about this guy.” 

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The jazz on Monday night in Atlanta was a bit out of tune.

However, despite hitting only three homers and getting eliminated in the first round, Jazz Chisholm Jr. was still pleased with his performance in the 2025 Home Run Derby.

"Nah yeah, what do you mean, 'Was it fun?' I had a lot of fun, I enjoyed every second of it," Chisholm said after the event.

More importantly, the Yankees All-Star didn't ruin his swing trying to overexert himself and crush home runs.

"I told them, next year, I said if I got more than 20 homers by the half next year, I'll do it again and actually try to hit homers every swing instead of -- trying to keep my swing," Chisholm said.

"It's not that I wasn't trying to hit homers, I was trying to keep my swing and hit homers. Instead of just trying to hit everything in the air, I was trying to keep my line drive swing and hit homers. But, you know, it's gets better."

He added that during his timeout break that teammate Aaron Judge even joked with him about not "messing up" his swing during the derby.

The infielder said prior to the competition that his "70 percent" mentality would help him win the All-Star event, but that wasn't the case as he finished with the lowest amount of home runs hit. Chisholm did admit that some swings "got up" to more than 70 percent effort and made it clear he enjoyed participating in the special event.

"I had a lot of fun. I enjoyed every second of it," Chisholm said. "You can't ask for a better feeling. I'm still an All-Star. I still hit in the Home Run Derby. Who could ask for a better experience than that?"

He also mentioned that he didn't even practice with his stepfather, Geronsands, who threw to him.

"For me at least, it was like after my first four or five swings, six swings, seven, around there, when I realized, I was like, 'You know what, if they ain't getting out and I'm not really back-spinning the ball right now, it's alright.' I'm having fun, my stepdad's out there throwing to me, I'm enjoying every second of it.

"We didn't practice for this. He hasn't thrown to me once in the last six months. At the end of the day, we was just having fun and enjoying it."

With the event behind him, and his swing intact, Chisholm will look to set a career-high in homers as he's already at 17 HRs and needs just eight more to break his 24-homer mark set last season. More importantly, he'll hope to help get the Yankees over the hump and win the World Series after falling short in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is the seventh player in Yankees history to compete in the Home Run Derby.

He's looking to become the fourth-ever winner in franchise history, and the first since his current teammate and captain Aaron Judge took home the crown back in 2017 at Marlins Park.

Here's how Jazz's quest in Atlanta went...

---

Round 1

In the first round, all eight hitters have three minutes or a total of 40 pitches (whichever comes first) to hit as many home runs as they can.

They then receive a bonus round, which lasts until they record three outs (any non-homer put in play) -- but if a player hits a 425+ foot blast during that extended period, they receive an extra out.

Chisholm was the sixth participant to take his hacks, and he started things off on a bit of a cold streak -- leaving the yard just one time over his first minute.

He called his first timeout with 1:25 remaining but still couldn't quite get himself into a groove, going another 45 seconds before lifting just his second homer of the night.

The lefty put one more over the right-center fence during the regulation period, and then went homer-less during his bonus round to finish the night with just three homers.

Chisholm, the hometown guy Matt Olson (15), young Nationals star James Wood (16), and Athletics slugger Brent Rooker (17) were eliminated in the first round.

Round 2 & Final

In the semi's, Junior Caminero (eight) beat Byron Buxton (seven), then the first-half home run leader Cal Raleigh put on an absolute show (19) to eliminate O'Neil Cruz (13).

With his dad pitching and his little brother behind the plate, Raleigh carried that momentum into the finals -- launching 18 more homers, which was enough to beat Caminero (15) and secure the derby title.

Raleigh is the first catcher and just the second player in Mariners history (Ken Griffey Jr.) with a derby victory.

The Yankees are expected to be very active ahead of the trade deadline.

Longtime GM Brian Cashman told reporters last week that he’s preparing to “go to town” as he looks to improve the club in the second-half. 

Three of the biggest needs mentioned: starter, bullpen help, infielder. 

One player who continues to be connected to the Bombers is Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez. 

It remains to be seen whether or not Arizona will actually make Suárez available in the coming weeks, but recent reports have indicated they will, and he certainly would make a ton of sense in the Bronx. 

The 34-year-old is an impending free agent in the midst of a spectacular campaign.

While he’s enjoyed his second season with Arizona, he certainly sounds open to the idea of landing with more of a title contender such as the Yankees ahead of the trade deadline. 

“I’m happy where I am, but I understand the game and the business,” Suárez said at All-Star Media Day. “Whatever happens, if I stay it’s fine but if I go its okay too, I will do my best wherever I am -- right now I’m happy where I am.

“The Yankees are the Yankees,” he added on potentially landing in the Bronx. “It’s a team that wants to win. They had success last year but are still hungry, if I go there I will do my best to try and help them win the World Series.”

Suárez has been terrific in the middle of things for Arizona -- earning his second career All-Star appearance. 

The right-handed hitting slugger has already topped his home run total from last season (30), he’s driven in a National League leading 78 runs, and has accounted for a WAR of 3.0 through the first-half of the season. 

Though Suárez’s glove isn’t nearly as valuable as his bat, but he would present the Yanks with a starting-caliber option so they can keep fellow All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second full-time. 

Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh makes history with 2025 MLB Home Run Derby win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Seattle’s Cal Raleigh won his first All-Star Home Run Derby after leading the big leagues in long balls going into the break, defeating Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero 18-15 in the final round Monday night.

The Mariners breakout slugger nicknamed Big Dumper advanced from the first round on a tiebreaker by less than an inch over the Athletics’ Brent Rooker, then won his semifinal 19-13 over Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, whose 513-foot first-round drive over Truist Park’s right-center field seats was the longest of the night.

Hitting second in the final round, the 22-year-old Caminero closed within three dingers, took three pitches and hit a liner to left field.

Becoming the first switch-hitter and first catcher to win the title, Raleigh had reached the All-Star break with a major league-leading 38 home runs. He became the second Mariners player to take the title after three-time winner Ken Griffey Jr.

Raleigh was pitched to by his father, Todd, former coach of Tennessee and Western Carolina. His younger brother Todd Raleigh Jr. did the catching.

Just the second Derby switch-hitter after Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman in 2023, Raleigh hit his first eight left-handed, took a timeout, then hit seven right-handed. Going back to lefty, he then hit two more in the bonus round and stayed lefty for the semifinals and the final.

Caminero beat Minnesota’s Byron Buxton 8-7 in the other semifinal.

Atlanta’s Matt Olson, Washington’s James Wood, the New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the Athletics’ Brent Rooker were eliminated in the first round of the annual power show.

Cruz and Caminero each hit 21 long balls and Buxton had 20 in the opening round. Raleigh and Rooker had 17 apiece, but Raleigh advanced on the tiebreaker of their longest homer, 470.61 feet to 470.53.

Cruz’s long drive was the hardest-hit at 118 mph.

The longest derby homer since Statcast started tracking in 2016 was 520 feet by Juan Soto in the mile-high air of Denver’s Coors Field in 2021. Last year, the longest drive at Arlington, Texas, was 473 feet by Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna.

Wood hit 16 homers, including a 486-foot shot and one that landed on the roof of the Chop House behind the right-field wall. Olson, disappointing his hometown fans, did not go deep on his first nine swings and finished with 15, He also was eliminated in the first round in 2021.

Chisholm hit just three homers, the fewest since the timer format started in 2015.

Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh makes history with 2025 MLB Home Run Derby win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Seattle’s Cal Raleigh won his first All-Star Home Run Derby after leading the big leagues in long balls going into the break, defeating Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero 18-15 in the final round Monday night.

The Mariners breakout slugger nicknamed Big Dumper advanced from the first round on a tiebreaker by less than an inch over the Athletics’ Brent Rooker, then won his semifinal 19-13 over Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, whose 513-foot first-round drive over Truist Park’s right-center field seats was the longest of the night.

Hitting second in the final round, the 22-year-old Caminero closed within three dingers, took three pitches and hit a liner to left field.

Becoming the first switch-hitter and first catcher to win the title, Raleigh had reached the All-Star break with a major league-leading 38 home runs. He became the second Mariners player to take the title after three-time winner Ken Griffey Jr.

Raleigh was pitched to by his father, Todd, former coach of Tennessee and Western Carolina. His younger brother Todd Raleigh Jr. did the catching.

Just the second Derby switch-hitter after Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman in 2023, Raleigh hit his first eight left-handed, took a timeout, then hit seven right-handed. Going back to lefty, he then hit two more in the bonus round and stayed lefty for the semifinals and the final.

Caminero beat Minnesota’s Byron Buxton 8-7 in the other semifinal.

Atlanta’s Matt Olson, Washington’s James Wood, the New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the Athletics’ Brent Rooker were eliminated in the first round of the annual power show.

Cruz and Caminero each hit 21 long balls and Buxton had 20 in the opening round. Raleigh and Rooker had 17 apiece, but Raleigh advanced on the tiebreaker of their longest homer, 470.61 feet to 470.53.

Cruz’s long drive was the hardest-hit at 118 mph.

The longest derby homer since Statcast started tracking in 2016 was 520 feet by Juan Soto in the mile-high air of Denver’s Coors Field in 2021. Last year, the longest drive at Arlington, Texas, was 473 feet by Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna.

Wood hit 16 homers, including a 486-foot shot and one that landed on the roof of the Chop House behind the right-field wall. Olson, disappointing his hometown fans, did not go deep on his first nine swings and finished with 15, He also was eliminated in the first round in 2021.

Chisholm hit just three homers, the fewest since the timer format started in 2015.

Major League Baseball presented its annual Home Run Derby on Monday night, and Shohei Ohtani wasn’t on the list of scheduled participants.

Aaron Judge wasn’t either.

A home run contest without baseball’s two most famous home-run hitters?

What’s the point?

Ohtani pointed to the contest’s physical demands as to why he didn’t compete. Judge said he would only consider participating if the event was staged in New York.

How unfortunate for baseball, which has the perfect stage to showcase its two most popular players but can’t persuade them to perform on it.

Here’s one potential remedy: Let Ohtani and Judge write the rules.

Read more:Jacob Misiorowski is the talk of the All-Star Game. Why Dodgers are partially to thank

That might not change Judge’s position, but it could change Ohtani’s. Ohtani has certainly pondered modifications that could be made to the Derby to make him more inclined to participate, some of which he shared at All-Star media day.

“That’s not for me to decide,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “However, personally, I think there could be limits on the number of pitches, the number of swings, and a focus on flight distance.”

The commissioner’s office should listen.

As profitable as baseball is, its cultural relevance in this country is diminishing. The most popular athletes in the United States are football and basketball players. Outside of Ohtani, and maybe Judge, no baseball player transcends his sport.

In Ohtani, baseball finally has its long-awaited face of the game, and the sport would be negligent to not maximize his stardom, both domestically and abroad.

Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners might be the major league leader in home runs, but he’s a nobody as far as the general public is concerned. The same is true of everyone else in the eight-player Derby field — Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brent Rooker of the Wandering Athletics.

By participating in the Derby, Ohtani wouldn’t just draw attention to the event. He would also elevate his competitors, giving them chances to introduce themselves to audiences that would otherwise remain ignorant of their existences.

If baseball has to reduce the number of swings taken by Derby participants to gain that kind of exposure for its players, it should reduce the number of swings taken by Derby participants.

For that matter, if Ohtani says he would participate only if he’s allowed to hit soccer balls, let him hit soccer balls.

Why not?

What would be compromised, the integrity of a barely-watchable made-for-television event?

Ohtani’s reticence is based on history. When Ohtani made his only Derby appearance in 2021, the format was similar to what it is now. In the first round, Ohtani had three minutes to hit as many homers as possible, as would be the case today. The Derby has since added a 40-pitch limit.

Ohtani was eliminated by Juan Soto in the opening round, after which he said with a simile, “It was more tiring than the regular season.”

Ohtani went on to win his first most valuable player award that year, but the Derby marked a turning point in his season. In 84 games before the All-Star break, Ohtani batted .279 with 33 homers and 70 runs batted in. In his 71 games after, he hit just .229 with 13 homers and 30 RBIs.

Read more:Seattle's Cal Raleigh becomes first catcher to win MLB All-Star Home Run Derby

He implied that experience was why he was unlikely to return any time soon.

“With the current rules, it’s pretty difficult,” Ohtani said last month, “so for now, I don’t think there’s much of a chance.”

For baseball, that translates to limited viewership.

Viewership for the Derby was at its highest in the first decade of the 2000s. Of the five most-viewed Derbys, only one was staged in the last 15 years: The 2017 Derby, which Judge won as a rookie. Judge has not competed since.

The Derby doesn’t make the players. The players make the Derby. And if the sport’s only superstar is open to taking part, the league should facilitate it.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Seven days ago, Jacob Misiorowski was really only known by the most die-hard of baseball fans.

And even then, he was far from any sort of household commodity.

“I don’t even know who I’m pitching against,” future Hall of Fame Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said last week, a day before squaring off against the Milwaukee Brewers' rookie phenom who had made only four career starts prior.

“Is that the guy who twisted his ankle on the mound, the ‘Twisted-His-Ankle’ guy?'” Kershaw added, able only to recall a widely shared clip of Misiorowski having to exit his MLB debut a month earlier amid five hitless innings after turning his ankle on the downslope of the hill.

Read more:Agent: Julio Urías has 'every intention to continue his career'

“I know he throws hard. I saw a couple highlights,” Kershaw continued.

But, as far as the 23-year-old’s reputation was concerned, that was it — both to Kershaw, and most casual observers of the sport.

Then, however, came the game that changed everything — for Misiorowski, Major League Baseball and the conversation around this year’s All-Star festivities in Atlanta.

Last Tuesday, Misiorowski had his official coming-out party with a dominant six-inning, one-run, 12-strikeout gem against the mighty Dodgers — easily the most electrifying outing of the young flamethrower’s nascent career.

Days later, in a move that stunned the sport, Misiorowski was unexpectedly added to the National League All-Star team — an immediately controversial move given his one total month of big-league service time.

On Monday, at an All-Star media day event near Truist Park in Atlanta, Misiorowski’s presence was still dominating story lines at the Midsummer Classic, especially after several members of the Philadelphia Phillies (who felt two of their pitchers, Cristopher Sánchez and Ranger Suarez, were more deserving of All-Star nods even though they wouldn’t have pitched in the game) derided Misiorowski’s selection over the weekend as a “joke” and public relations stunt by the league.

It was the first question Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who will helm the National League team after winning last year’s World Series, fielded at a Monday afternoon news conference at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theater.

And when Misiorowski took his seat at media day, he was immediately peppered with questions about the backlash to his inclusion, and how he felt about people who argued he wasn’t deserving of being in the game — especially his NL teammates from the Phillies.

“I mean, they’re not happy,” Misiorowski said with an awkward smile. “But they’re not upset with me. It’s nothing I did. So they were all nice to me. The clubhouse has been good.”

For all the visceral takes and viral reactions the Misiorowski story has generated in recent days, chances are it will blow over by the time Tuesday’s game rolls around.

Roberts confirmed Misiorowski will pitch in the contest, probably somewhere in the middle innings.

And while he said Misiorowski’s selection, coupled with the withdrawals from numerous other NL All-Star pitchers, required a “deeper conversation” about how the game could be improved, he added that he was all for having Misiorowski take part in this year’s event.

“For this young kid to be named an All-Star, I couldn’t be more excited for him,” Roberts said. “It’s gonna be electric. The fans, the media, you’re gonna love it. So for me, it’s an easy answer, because if it brings excitement, attention to our game, then I’m all about it.”

If it wasn’t for Roberts’ team, the Misiorowski drama might have never happened.

Entering his start against the Dodgers last week, Misiorowski had a 3.20 ERA, was coming off a five-run, 3 ⅔ inning clunker against the New York Mets, and (despite his 100-plus mph fastball and wicked repertoire of breaking pitches) was nowhere near the All-Star picture.

Even internally, he acknowledged, he was still getting comfortable in the majors.

But in that game against the Dodgers, Misiorowski bounced back from a leadoff home run from Shohei Ohtani by giving up just three other hits. He mowed through the Dodgers’ league-leading offense with triple-digit fastballs and upper-90s mph sliders, which Dodgers catcher Will Smith called the nastiest current pitch in the sport. And he emerged with a newfound sense of belonging at the big-league level.

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“That’s one of those games you look back on and you’re like, ‘OK, now we go,’” Misiorowski said Monday. “Now it starts.’”

Afterward, no one praised the young right-hander more than Kershaw, who started his postgame remarks about Misiorowski by quipping, “I know him now, huh?”

And now, a week later, so too does the rest of the baseball world; with Misiorowski’s dismantling of the Dodgers helping to thrust him into a spotlight he could have never imagined seven days earlier.

“I think it was just one of those things that, when it happened, it’s not really anything I’ve done,” he said. “I’m not gonna say no to MLB about coming to the game, so it is what it is.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

David Wright was still around during Jacob deGrom’s first few seasons as a Met. 

The All-Star third baseman was at the tail-end of his career as he battled through injuries, but he was still the captain of the club and made sure that he took the young starting pitcher under his wing. 

That certainly left a lasting impression on deGrom. 

Speaking at All-Star Media Day on Monday in Atlanta, the now Texas Rangers starter told reporters that he’s thrilled to see Wright’s No. 5 being lifted up into the Citi Field rafters later this week. 

“David was awesome for me early in my career,” he said. “My first year in the major leagues my locker was right next to him, to have a guy like that and to be able to learn from him, there’s no telling where I’d be without that experience.

“I’m super happy for him his number is being retired, he’s one of the all-time great Mets.”

This is also a pretty big week for deGrom, as he's making his first All-Star appearance since 2021 as a Met.

After dealing with injuries over the past few years, the 37-year-old has stayed healthy and returned to his dominant form this year with Texas -- pitching to a 2.32 ERA and 0.90 WHIP across 19 first-half outings. 

The return to the festivities has presented him an opportunity to reconnect with some of his old teammates from the Big Apple.

“It was fun to see them,” he said. “You make a lot of friends in this game -- I keep in touch with some of those guys still, so it’s good see them and say hello, I’m happy with what they’ve been able to do this year.”

One of those former teammates is Pete Alonso, who says it’s awesome to finally see deGrom back healthy and at the top of his game. 

“With Jake feeling like himself, there’s never a doubt what his ceiling is,” he said. “He’s a guy that as long as he’s healthy he’s going to be a standout and one of the best in the world at what he does, so I’m super happy for him.

“Being a teammate of his for a long time, just seeing him overcome adversity and get his body right and be able to perform the way he has, it’s special -- he’s a Hall of Fame talent and to see him find that success it’s just really special what he’s been able to do.”