Category: Baseball

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros will open the second half of play tonight at Daikin Park as they welcome in the Orioles for a three-game series.

RHP Peter Lambert (8-5), the Astros most consistent starter of the first half, will get the start for Houston opposite RHP Dean Kremer (1-2) and the Orioles.

RIDING THE LAMBO: RHP Peter Lambert, who was a minor league free agent signing this offseason, leads the club in wins and among AL pitchers ranks third in opponent average (.201) and eighth in ERA (min. 85IP).

Lambert pitched last year for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the NPB, posting a 3.98 ERA (55ER/124.1IP) with 111 K’s in 23 starts.

THE SLOW TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 27-20 since May 21, which is the best record in the AL in that span.

On that date, the Astros were 20-31, 11 games under, which is their low water mark for the season.

JP’S NIGHT: SS Jeremy Peña will host little leaguers from East End Little League today for July’s Peña’s Pals, which is a program that celebrates kids and their development in academics, character building and making healthy choices.

Additionally, 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a Jeremy Peña Short Sleeve 90s Hoodie Jersey, presented by Sire Spirits, as tonight’s giveaway.

THIS WEEKEND’S TELECASTS: All three games of this series will be televised by Space City Home Network with Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum and Lauren Callender on the call.

Sideline reporter Julia Morales will rejoin the broadcast next week.

GET ‘EM EARLY: The Astros rank first in the AL and second in MLB in 1st-inning runs with 60.

Overall, the Astros rank fifth in the AL in runs (428) immediately behind tonight’s opponent, the Orioles (432).

ON THE DEFENSIVE: The Astros rank third in the AL in fielding pct. (.988) and their 42 errors are the second-fewest in the AL.

1B Christian Walker has led the way, as he has not committed an error in his 94 games played at 1B.

Dating back to last season, Walker has not made an error in his last 122 games at 1B (last error was Aug. 23, 2025 at BAL).

THE 2027 SCHEDULE: The 2027 regular season schedule was announced by Major League Baseball yesterday, which revealed Astros Opening Day as Thursday, March 25 vs. TEX.

The Astros schedule is also highlighted by weekend series against the Yankees (April 23-25), Cubs (May 14- 16), Mariners (June 25-27), Padres (July 30-Aug. 1), Phillies (Sept. 17-19), and others.

WEDNESDAY’S TRADE: Announced on Wednesday, the Astros traded RHP Lance McCullers Jr., LHP Colton Gordon, and cash considerations to the Brewers in exchange for prospect OF Jadyn Fielder.

McCullers leaves behind a legacy as one of the most-accomplished postseason pitchers in Astros history, making 19 postseason appearances (12 starts) and posting a 3.47 ERA (28ER/72.2IP) en route to two World Series championships.

TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES: The Astros have selected OF Lucas Spence (#28) to the Major League roster and have reinstated RHP Kai-Wei Teng from the 15-day IL.

Additionally, OF Brice Matthews has been placed on the 10-day IL with a left knee sprain.

ON THE MEND: The Astros have seven players on the Major League Injured List.

Updates on a few:

RHP Hayden Wesneski (rt. elbow surgery) is sheduled to pitch at Triple A tonight…he has made three rehab appearances so far, last pitching for Triple A Sugar Land on July 11 vs. ABQ (1ER/4.2IP)…he fanned seven in the outing on a season-high 61 pitches.

RHP Ronel Blanco (rt. elbow surgery) has made five rehab appearances, last starting on July 12 vs. ABQ (0ER/4.1IP), in which he tossed 68 pitches.

RHP Mike Burrows (rt. elbow neuritis) has reported to West Palm Beach to begin a throwing progression.

LHP Bennett Sousa (lt. elbow inflammation) made two rehab appearances for the FCL Astros over the All-Star break, tossing 1.0 scoreless inning in each outing. He last pitched on Wednesday (16 pitches).

OF Brice Matthews (lt. knee sprain) is currently participating in light baseball activities in Houston.

ALL-STAR ALVAREZ: DH Yordan Alvarez started and hit second for the AL in this week’s All-Star Game, going 1×2 with a single and a run scored.

This marked the fourth All-Star selection for Alvarez (2022-24, 2026) and the second time that he was voted as a starter (also in 2024).

MVP-CALIBER: DH Yordan Alvarez is a strong MVP candidate, currently leading all of baseball in OPS (1.059), OBP (.426), SLG (.633), and total bases (221).

Additionally, he ranks first in the AL in HR (31), first in RBI (70), first in XBH (48), tied for first in hits (111), second in batting average (.318), second in runs (65), and fourth in walks (63).

WHAT A HALF!: DH Yordan Alvarez hit 31 homers prior to the break, which are the most in a first half in club history, topping OF Lance Berkman, who hit 29 homers in the first half of the 2002 season.

Alvarez is on pace to hit 51 homers on the season, which would represent a new franchise record, topping the 47 homers hit by 1B Jeff Bagwell in 2000.

TAP FOR SUCCESS: Astros hitters have won an MLB-best 70 ABS challenges and lead the Majors in challenge success rate (61%).

2B Jose Altuve has been successful on 15-of-21 challenges (71%), ranking second in the Majors in challenges won.

3B Isaac Paredes (11-for-12) has been the most efficient regular challenger for the team and was successful in his first 11 challenges on the season.

WHAT A RELIEF: LHP Josh Hader is 3-1 with 10 saves (in 10 chances), has a 1.17 ERA (2ER/15.1IP), 25 strikeouts in 15.1 innings, a .115 (6×52) opponent average, and a 0.91 WHIP in 17 appearances.

He has not allowed a hit in 13 of his 17 appearances.

THE 2026 FUTURES GAME: The Astros top two prospects, OF Kevin Alvarez and IF Xavier Neyens, represented the club in the All-Star Futures Game, which was played last weekend in Philadelphia.

Both prospects, which played the first half of the season for Class A Fayetteville, are considered top 100 prospects per MiLB.com, with Alvarez ranking 69th and Neyens 87th overall.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Friday, July 17, 7:10 p.m. CT

Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

The Yankees and Aaron Judgegot the results back from re-imaging over the All-Star break and the slugger's ribs have not healed enough for him to resume baseball activities.

"We're still waiting on one more doctor to take a look at it. Kind of see how we progress forward the next couple weeks, but it’s definitely a positive sign," Judge said before Friday's series opener with the Dodgers.

Judge had the re-imaging done Wednesday, but the organization is waiting for Dr. Gregory Pearl to give his opinion on the next steps. Judge is hopeful they'll learn more by the time Friday's game is over or on Saturday.

When asked whether the doctors need to see full healing before he can start baseball activities or whether it's about pain tolerance, the reigning MVP gave his take, but ultimately said he's going to follow what the doctors say.

"I think it's more of once we see it kind of healing all the way through, I think part of it's healing, the other part of it's still trying to bridge together," Judge said. "So I think that's what we're trying to wait and see if we can kind of get some confirmation of what we can start doing.

"I'm going to wait for the doctors to tell us what to do and what they see when they look at it, but I think it's some positive news."

Judge did say he has no reason to believe he won't play this season, saying "I don't see why not."

But he confirmed that he has not started any sort of activities. Everything he has done is just lower-body and conditioning.

Judge said he's feeling "10 times better" since injuring his ribs on a dive in the outfield back in April, and is itching to start doing baseball activities, but the organization is being cautious with their captain. He doesn't believe he'll need a spring training-style ramp-up -- he said he hates "wasting at-bats" in a rehab game -- but once they hear back, he'll discuss with the organization on next steps. 

Prior to the injury, Judge was slashing .248/.375/.533 with 17 home runs and 38 RBI in 59 games.

The Yankees have been up and down since Judge landed on the IL. They enter play Friday with a 54-42 record, overcoming a 5-15 stretch, and are now riding a four-game winning streak. 

It's a stark difference from the 2023 season when Judge broke his toe slamming into a wall at Dodger Stadium, which cost him 45 games and the Yankees their season.

Manager Aaron Boone believes this year's team is different despite Judge's absence.

“We weren't as good a team then," Boone said. "We weren't equipped to handle that and feel like we are much more equipped now with some of our depth and some of our young players that are now integral parts of the team.

"And I think outside of the 10-game stretch where we're terrible, for the most part, we have played well and better than when that happened in '23." 

A big part of the Yankees' resilience has been Paul Goldschmidt's revival, Cody Bellinger's consistency and the emergence of Ben Rice. All of whom Judge credits as part of what's kept the team afloat.

"It's been tough, but we got a lot of great guys in this clubhouse have been holding their own and kind of carrying the weight of this team," Judge said of not playing. "Goldie, Belli, what they've been doing;  Ben Rice has been... It's been fun to watch, but that's been tough sitting on the sidelines."

Texas Rangers lineup for July 17, 2026 against the Atlanta Braves: starting pitchers are Cal Quantrill for the Rangers and Chris Sale for the Braves.

Texas begins the second half of the season with a three game set in Atlanta. Chris Sale is on the mound for the Braves, so Skip Schumaker has all the righties out there.

The lineup:

Foscue — DH

Langford — LF

Nimmo — RF

Jung — 3B

Burger — 1B

Duran — SS

Cauley — CF

Diaz — C

Lopez — 2B

6:15 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +175 underdogs.

Aaron Boone provided the latest on a bevy of injured Yankees prior to Friday's series opener against the Dodgers...

The plan for Fried

At this point, we already know that Max Fried is preparing to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Friday night with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. 

First pitch against Worcester is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. 

The left-hander is expected to throw around 50 pitches his first time out. 

Boone said that Fried will make at least one more outing following this one, and then the team will decided whether or not to activate him before being fully built up. 

Friday is Fried's first outing since May 13 due to a bone bruise in his elbow. 

He had been in the midst of a bit of a rough stretch prior to the injury, allowing 3+ runs in each of his last three outings to bring his ERA up to 3.21 for the season. 

Getting Fried back sooner rather than later would be a nice boost for New York's rotation, though. 

Rodón, Schmidt taking steps forward

While neither Carlos Rodón or Clarke Schmidt are nearly as close as Fried is, both are trending in the right direction. 

Rodón threw about 10 pitches in a short bullpen session today, Boone said. 

The skipper also revealed that Schmidt is set to face live hitters for the first time on Saturday. 

Schmidt, of course, has been slowly progressing his way back after he was forced to undergo the second Tommy John procedure of his career last summer. 

As long as things keep going as planned, he has a chance to be back in the mix next month. 

That's when Rodón is expected to rejoin New York's rotation as well, as he continues to ease his way back following an elbow inflammation scare that forced him to the sidelines earlier this month. 

Stanton too, but still no return date

Giancarlo Stanton has also taken a step forward, as Boone revealed he's begun a running program. 

The big man still remains without a timeline for a return, though. 

Stanton hasn't appeared in big-league action since April 24 against the Astros. 

He originally sustained the calf injury jogging between first and second, then re-tweaked it while running the bases during his build up in mid-June at Yankee Stadium. 

Stanton hasn't logged a full season since his first as a Yankee, and this is his seventh IL stint since 2021. 

He had been enjoying some success at the plate being going down this time, ripping three homers and six doubles while driving in 14 runs over his first 24 games of the season. 

The Yanks still hope expect him to return at some point this season. 

Lombard Jr. makes his return

George Lombard Jr. has officially been activated from the Triple-A IL, and will make his return to the lineup during Fried's outing on Friday night. 

The top prospect is back playing shortstop and batting leadoff. 

Brian Cashman said shortly before the All-Star break that Lombard could potentially be an option in the big leagues at some point down the stretch of the regular season. 

The team feels he's already ready to take that next step defensively at shortstop and third base, and he's closed the gap he had coming into this season offensively. 

Lombard had a .381 OBP and .765 OPS in Triple-A before going down with the injury. 

How Red Sox can buy and sell at trade deadline without wrecking season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

A few weeks ago, there was no doubt: The Red Sox would have to be sellers at this year’s trade deadline.

Yet after an absurd stretch of winning (10 straight and 15 of 17 entering Friday night), that plan is on hold as everybody in baseball — and the Red Sox themselves — assess just how good this year’s team can be.

With the winning has come calls for Breslow to buy at the deadline and supplement a roster that could use some offensive help. Doing so, however, would prevent chief baseball officer Craig Breslow from trading away some veteran assets that could help bring some players to Boston who could help this year and beyond.

Or would it?

MassLive’s Chris Cotillo laid out a plan on Early Edition that could simultaneously accomplish multiple goals for a Red Sox team that will surely want to stay in playoff contention for the rest of the year.

That plan would involve trading away starting pitcher Sonny Gray (age 36 years old) and closer Aroldis Chapman (38) and bringing in offensive help from a player (or players) who are under contract beyond the 2026 season.

“The reason I think that’s important is that the free-agent class this year is horrible for bats. Jazz Chisholm is like the best one. It’s not a market where you can go and pay for a bat,” Cotillo explained. “So if a Byron Buxton is available or a C.J. Abrams in a blockbuster, probably worth investigating now because the options aren’t gonna be there in the winter.

“And I think, honestly, that shouldn’t preclude them from cashing in on a chip like Gray or Chapman. They’re in their late 30s, they’ve had unbelievable seasons so far, especially Gray. And I think you’re gonna get a premium for those guys.”

Cotillo noted that the rise of Jake Bennett (who improved to 5-3 with a 2.35 ERA on Friday afternoon) along with the consistency of Payton Tolle and Connelly Early could allow the Red Sox to withstand a loss of Gray — especially if Garrett Crochet is able to return at some point. He also added that the bullpen could survive with Garrett Whitlock in the closer’s role instead of Chapman.

“So it’s a cop-out to do a little of both sometimes. They’re just in such a unique situation where they can add a controllable bat — I think they’ll try to do that — and then also, if the prices get to a certain point, it would be stupid not to listen on Gray and Chapman, considering what they are and their contracts and all that,” Cotillo said.

While there would certainly be quite a bit of pushback from fans who might interpret such moves as giving up on the season, Cotillo said that such a slightly longer-term approach could put the Red Sox in a better position in the coming years.

“I think it would be a smart hedge, honestly, to do both,” he said. “Heart of hearts, I think the smart thing to do would be a little buying, a little selling, set yourself for next year in the lineup, move a piece of your roster that you can get by without. … But easier said than done, as always, this time of year.”

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are slight -115 moneyline favorites tonight against the New York Yankees in the first game out of the All-Star break, but my Dodgers vs. Yankees predictions are taking the home side.

Roki Sasaki’s loud-contact issues are a bad fit against a Yankees lineup that still wins through lift and power, while Gerrit Cole gives New York a pitching edge.

Here are my free MLB picks for Friday, July 17.

Who will win Dodgers vs Yankees today: Yankees moneyline (+101)

If the New York Yankees are going to make a charge in the AL East, there's no better time than now against the best team in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers. I’m playing them down to -110.

Roki Sasaki's biggest flaw runs into New York’s best offensive path. Sasaki has allowed a 12.8% barrel rate and 44.9% hard-hit rate, and his four-seamer has been hit for a .606 SLG.

These are all things the Yankees excel at, arriving at this game with the highest barrel rate in baseball, the third-highest hard-hit rate, and several strong hitters against the heater.

COVERS INTEL:Sasaki’s 9.4% walk rate is above MLB average, giving New York a traffic base before its power bats get to swing.

Dodgers vs Yankees Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (+105)

I’m playing the Over because both offenses have a clear matchup path. Sasaki’s fastball and barrel issues give New York a real chance to do damage early, even without Aaron Judge.

Gerrit Cole is the better starter, but this is still the Dodgers’ lineup. And he hasn't been "vintage Cole" either. L.A. can punish his elevated-contact profile, with Cole allowing a 9.2% barrel rate and 40.3% hard-hit rate this season.

I projected 10.1 and would play this to -115.

Dodgers vs Yankees weather

Slight bump for the offenses with temperatures above 80F at first pitch and a slight breeze going toward left-center field. Keep an eye out for any time changes or a postponement due to bad air quality in the NYC area stemming from Canadian wildfires.

Dodgers vs Yankees odds

• Moneyline: Dodgers -110 | Yankees -106
• Run line: Dodgers -1.5 | Yankees +1.5
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 | Under 9.5

Dodgers vs Yankees trend

The Yankees have hit the moneyline in four of their last five games (+3.25 Units / 50% ROI).

How to watch Dodgers vs Yankees and game info

Dodgers vs Yankees latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Welcome back to your regularly scheduled program of Atlanta Braves baseball.

The roster has been released, and let’s just say it’s an exact copy-and-paste of how they ended the half.

Facing the Texas Rangers tonight, Drake Baldwin will be leading off with Brewer Hicklen returning to the lineup to take over right field and batting ninth.

Chris Sale is taking the mound and looking for a surge in offensive production as the second half of the season kicks off. No more quiet bats or late starts. It’s time to set the tone at Truist Park to show up how they did in the earlier half of the season… at least, Braves country could only hope.

The Braves avoided a sweep to end the first half of the season with this same lineup. Can they surpass where they left off?

Find out tonight at 7:15 p.m. ET

The Yankees waited six weeks for reimaging on Aaron Judge’s right rib, only to essentially be told: try again soon.

The back-to-back American League MVP underwent imaging on Wednesday that showed healing in his rib, but not enough to clear him for baseball activities just yet.

He and the team were still waiting to hear back from a rib specialist to see if he might be able to get the green light to at least begin some upper-body exercises, which would represent a minor victory since has not been able to do any of them for the six weeks since he was diagnosed with the injury.

As of Friday afternoon, though, Judge remained in a holding pattern as the Yankees opened the second half of the season without him — as they will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

“Definitely a positive sign that we’re seeing some healing,” Judge said. “Part of it’s healing, the other part of it’s still trying to bridge together. I think that’s what we’re trying to wait and see if we can get some confirmation of what we can start doing.”

Judge indicated was “definitely” confident he will still be able to get back on the field this year – “I don’t see why not,” he said, which manager Aaron Boone echoed.

“I feel good about the fact that he’ll be back,” Boone said. “But it’s just a matter of when.”

It remains to be seen how long Judge would need to get himself ready to play in games once he is cleared to resume baseball activities, though at this point, getting back at some point in August might be wishful thinking.

GM Brian Cashman had cautioned last week that the Yankees did not expect Judge’s rib to be fully healed yet. But they were at least hoping he would be cleared to do more than the lower-body exercises he has been limited to since the start of June.

That said, they do not want to push Judge too soon because if he were to suffer a setback, it could potentially jeopardize his ability to play again this season.

“[There were a] couple weeks that were tough, really couldn’t do a lot, but now we’re feeling 10 times better,” Judge said. “That was my big complaint, ‘Well if I’m feeling better, how about we start moving?’ But I think they just don’t want to start adding baseball activities and other stuff and all of a sudden we have a setback and it pushes everything back. I think they want to be sure it’s healing up the right way so we can get back as soon as we can.”

Asked if he would need the equivalent of spring training (six weeks) once he does start baseball activities, Judge indicated he was hoping for a shorter runway – including not wanting to “waste” at-bats in a rehab assignment, though skipping one altogether seems unlikely and it is still well off in the distance.

Before they opened the second half with a showdown series against the Dodgers, the Yankees were still waiting to hear back from Dr. Gregory Pearl – the same specialist they consulted with for the original diagnosis – to determine what Judge will be able to do in the coming days and when his next round of imaging would be. Since the beginning of June, he has mostly been limited to lower-body exercises like walking on the treadmill, and briefly riding an exercise bike before they “shied away from that.”

In the meantime — with the Yankees entering Friday 18-19 without Judge and three games back of the Rays for the division lead — the painful waiting game continued.

“It’s been the worst,” Judge said. “I want to play. That’s why I’m here, that’s why I get paid, to play big games for the Yankees. Especially with the team we have, how special it is, how special this group is, I want to be a part of everything. It’s been tough, but we got a lot of great guys in this clubhouse that’ve been holding their own and kind of carrying the weight of this team. [Paul Goldschmidt], [Cody Bellinger], what they’ve been doing, Ben Rice, it’s been fun to watch.

“But it’s been tough sitting on the sidelines.”

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

Michael G. asks:The Reds seem to be falling out of the race. Would Stephenson make some some sense? He’s a free agent at year end and healthy.

Stephenson would, and right now I’d say he’s the fallback option if the Yankees can’t pry Ryan Jeffers or Hunter Goodman away from Minnesota or Colorado. It’s not a priority pick, because Stephenson’s offensive capacity is nowhere close to those two with just an 86 wRC+ this season, but when you compare that to what the Yankees have gotten out of their catchers it’s still an upgrade. The main reason that Stephenson could end up in pinstripes though is that the Rockies have been hesitant to include Goodman in trade talks because they see him as a building block towards getting out of the gutter, while the Twins have managed to stay in the playoff race despite hovering around .500 basically the whole season. Things could shift on either front, but if they both stand firm and the Yankees end up with neither of them then Stephenson becomes an option that the team more readily considers.

Darth_Lazarus asks: Given he’s had a month or so adjustment period before he starts hitting with every promotion, does it make sense to contemplate bringing up Lombard? Assuming he’d come up around the deadline would he have time to be ready for playoff pitching?

There’s been plenty of speculation about whether George Lombard Jr. will see the field in the Bronx this year, fueled in equal parts by his strong rise through the organization’s minor leagues as well as the lack of enthusiasm for the current shortstop options in José Caballero and Anthony Volpe. I think I’d be more gung-ho about the potential of Lombard making an impact on this year’s title hunt if he hadn’t gotten injured and missed the last month of playing time, because it looked like he’d turned a corner on Triple-A pitching and was starting to put the pieces together. Now he’ll need to get back into the rhythm again and absolutely rake in a short period of time to warrant a shot with enough time to adjust to the major league level, but to his credit his rehab games in Rookie ball have already gone swimmingly with a pair of homers in as many games. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but it’s also a pretty significant gamble to mess with the development time of the organization’s top prospect when there are questions still to be answered about his contact rate that could cause major issues against major leaguers.

While there’s a narrow window for this timeline to work out, at the very least it’s not one inhibited by the Trade Deadline. The Yankees won’t be going out to get a shortstop from another team, and it’s also not likely that they’ll be looking for infield help anywhere that could impact this situation. Caballero and Volpe may not be inspiring choices to stick in the starting lineup, but they’re also far from the biggest problem with this roster — both are hitting to a 95 wRC+, just a shade below average in an offense that’s been far more feast or famine elsewhere, and while I sympathize with people who just simply have Anthony Volpe Fatigue at this point due to the occasional boneheaded play his defense overall has looked much closer to his first couple of seasons than his terrible play last year. The onus is on Lombard to impress enough to make his way onto the roster rather than an outright need that has to be addressed here and now, and if he does then there’s a world where his high ceiling plays a part in New York’s October baseball lasting longer than a week or so.

BetweenthePinstripes asks:Has the league shifted towards being more aggressive with promoting younger prospects to the big leagues? If so, are there (relatively) new financial incentives for teams to accelerate a prospect’s development?

We’re sticking with Volpe as the topic here for a minute, as this question was asked in tandem to a response that Derek Jeter had over the All-Star break when asked about the Yankee shortstop. You can read the full comments that Jeter gave here, but I’ll highlight the ones that were pulled out for this question in particular.

“I think as a young player, it’s obvious the Yankees have made a commitment to Anthony….They’re committed to allowing him to continue developing at the major league level. At times, fans get frustrated watching that, but every player goes through it. Every player has gone through bumps in the road. Most of the time, those bumps happen in the minor leagues….It’s tough to go through growing pains at the major league level.“

There are new incentives for top prospects in particular, namely the Prospect Promotion Incentive baked into the last CBA that prompts teams to start promising rookies right away on their Opening Day rosters instead of stashing them in the minors long enough to earn another year of control over their contracts. The return is that they’ll be rewarded with a draft pick if said players win Rookie of the Year or finish in the top three for an MVP or Cy Young Award before they become arbitration-eligible.

The Yankees have not gotten lucky enough to qualify for these picks, though you could argue that this clause in the CBA has still brought about a wave of teams leaning on prospects earlier than expected as the team brought up Cam Schlittler midway through last year and had Ben Rice debut midseason the year before that despite not having had significant time spent down in the minors. Neither one of those players were considered to be contenders to become the players they are now, but they got their shot because the team wasn’t as concerned with holding out for team control as much as they were seeking help for a sudden hole the team needed to fill. It could’ve easily been a journeyman fill-in or a Triple-A mainstay that could’ve been elevated for the starts needed at the time, and that would’ve been the old Yankees’ operating procedure, but the door is more open now than it felt a decade ago. Whether that constitutes a faster pace than there has ever been or if it’s just a course correction from how conservative teams have been with prospects prior to the past few years is a different conversation, but there’s definitely been a notable enough shift.

Welcome back from the All-Star Break, everyone! Hopefully the Rays are well-rested and recharged, because their second half is getting started with a doubleheader against the Red Sox. In the afternoon game, we had Griffin Jax on the mound for the Rays up against Jake Bennett for the Sox.

Jonathan Aranda got a one-out walk in the first, but he was the Rays’ only baserunner for the inning and they left him stranded. Jax did turn it around, though, getting the Red Sox out in order in the home half.

The Rays went 1-2-3 in the top of the second. In the bottom of the inning, things started to go badly for Jax almost immediately. Caleb Durbin singled, then Masataka Yoshida doubled, putting to runs in scoring position. With one out, a Jarren Duran sac fly scored the first run of the game for the Sox. Carlos Narvaez followed that with a single to score one more. Jax did get the final out of the inning, but the Red Sox were up 2-0 after two.

The Rays went three-up, three-down in the third. Anthony Seigler started the home half with a single, but was eliminated in a force out off the bat of Ceddanne Rafaela. Rafaela then stole second. Two outs followed, though, getting the Rays out of the jam.

Junior Caminero proved he’s feeling just fine after his ASG injury with a one-out single in the fourth. Unfortunately the next two batters were out in order to leave him stranded. Yoshida came out swinging in the home half, with a leadoff home run. Jax did collect the next three outs in order, thankfully.

If you need baserunners to score runs, the Rays weren’t doing a great job of catching up on the Red Sox’s lead. They went 1-2-3 in the fifth. In the home half, Seigler got a one-out single, but the Red Sox left him stranded.

Nick Fortes got a free bag in the sixth, getting hit by a pitch to start the inning, but the Rays went down in order after him. While Jax had been doing a creditable job of staying out of trouble through most of the game, in the bottom of the sixth, things really fell off the tracks. Durbin was hit by a pitch to start the inning, then Yoshida singled. Romy Gozalez walked to load the bases. A single by Duran scored two runs. That was it for Jax, who was replaced by Chris Roycroft, but the bleeding didn’t stop. Narvaez singled to score one more run. And then Tsung-Che Cheng singled, bringing one more runner home. Seigler grounded into a double play, which the Rays desperately needed, but then Rafaela doubled to score yet another run. Wilyer Abreu was intentionally walked, but it didn’t help anything because Durbin singled, scoring another run. By the time the Rays got the final out of the inning, the Red Sox were up 9-0. After accounting for the runners on base when he was pulled, Jax’s final line for the game was 5.0 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR on 85 pitches. Rough times.

Alec Gamboa replaced Bennett in the seventh, and he continued the trend of getting the Rays out in order. With two outs in the home half, Narvaez hit a solo home run. The Rays managed to stop the bleeding there, but with a 10-run lead for the Red Sox, perhaps they should just start saving their energy for the evening game.

Taylor Walls got a one-out double in the eighth, but the Rays left him out there, and no runs scored. The Rays opted to save their bullpen by the bottom of the eighth, bringing in Ben Williamson to take on the Sox. He got the first two outs before giving up a single to Abreu on a 44mpg Eephua pitch, which is just about the funniest sentence I’ll write today. I love a position player pitching. Durbin then singled as well. No runs scored, though, so Williamson might have been one of the most effective pitchers of the game.

With two outs in the top of the ninth, Ryan Vilade squeaked in a single, but it wouldn’t be enough to mount a comeback. The Rays fell to the Sox, but hopefully in game two the results will be a little different.

Final: Red Sox 10, Rays 0

At the midseason break, the 50-45 White Sox find themselves in the most ideal place one could ask for: Tied for first with Guardians, in one of the weakest MLB divisions — second to only the AL West by a couple of games, and with their starters all healthy. For a team seeking to finish better than .500 with a manageable path to the postseason, Chicago is finally poised to be buyers at the trade deadline on August 3.

To outlast the Guardians and fend off the Twins and Tigers, the Sox must amend their starting pitching deficit. The starters sit in the middle of the pack with a 4.32 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and .245 batting average allowed. While those figures seem acceptable, the club has allowed the third-most runs among winning teams in the American League (419).  The culprit lies in a quasi five-man rotation that has yet to produce a reliable ace at home and on the road. While Davis Martin occupies that spot at Rate Field, his 4.72 ERA, .289 batting average allowed and 21 walks away from home nullifies his Cy Young candidacy. 

Luckily, there are a handful of starting pitchers who can offer decent value before the leaves start to turn.

Michael Wacha, Royals
Affordable rental arms are hard to come by, but Wacha fits the bill. His modest 3.77 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 2.2 WAR are attractive, but his value jumps when factoring in his 12 quality starts and working relationship with White Sox pitching coach Zach Bove. Wacha’s dramatic drops in efficiency and accuracy are worth the tradeoff for his nearly 15 years of pitching expertise and upside he offers for two, or potentially three months of service. The Sox love dealing with the Royals, so why not get another trade done?

Foster Griffin, Nationals
Griffin is expected to be a hot commodity on the trade block. The impending free agent came back from a three-year hiatus playing for Japan’s Yomiuri Giants looking like a brand-new pitcher. Griffin went from a frustrating reliever, to put it nicely, to a more polished starter, earning a 2.77 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 109 strikeouts while pitching six or more innings in more than half his starts. Aside from two really poor outings, Griffin is one of the biggest stories of Washington’s rebuild under its new front office. The Sox must pursue Griffin if they’re looking to be serious competitors for the remainder of the season. 

Logan Webb, Giants
If the Sox are looking to push their chips in this season, Webb wouldn’t be a bad option. Although the Giants will command a higher price tag for the 2023 NL Cy Young runner-up, Webb’s current pitching and resume speaks for itself. He holds a 3.44 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP, and his complete game against the Marlins is a strong indicator that the awful Giants haven’t taken advantage of his prowess this season. The Sox may need to overpay in a league where three division leaders have a three-game lead on the third-place team, but Chicago shouldn’t be sparing a penny given the shortage of starters with contracts expiring this year.

Each and every summer, the MLB All Star Futures Game features rosters loaded with prospect talent representing both the American League and National League. This year, that was no different, as top catching prospect Alfredo Duno repped the Cincinnati Reds in the event which took place at some point during the myriad happenings surrounding the All Star Game itself.

Did you get to watch it? Did you even hear when it was supposed to be played?

Instead of creating a showcase for the game the way MLB does for the Home Run Derby on the Monday before the Game itself on Tuesday, it was buried as a noon first pitch on Sunday, July 12th against a full slate of actual MLB games as teams wrapped up the first halves of their season. It was held to just a 7 inning exhibition format, and it was impossible for you to have watched it and watched your MLB team at the same time.

Why won’t MLB create a showcase for the game itself? Perhaps hold it as a Sunday Night Baseball showcase since that time slot wasn’t occupied by any other baseball-adjacent feature. You could even run it on Wednesday after the ASG itself!

Point being, the national question posed to baseball fans this week during MLB Reacts was whether the Futures Game should be showcased more during All Star week, and an overwhelming 85% of fans think it absolutely should be.

Duno, one of Cincinnati’s best prospects in years, started the game for the National League and went 0 for 2 (with one of those being a 400 foot fly out to CF that just missed clearing the wall). Unless you were willing to abandon watching the Reds for the final time before a four-day break for that opportunity, you didn’t get to see him do that.

It’s time for Rob Manfred to use the already-excellent Futures Game concept in a way that both showcases the players involved and provides a clearer path for fans to enjoy it.

MLB Reacts are brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook.

“I’m almost done.”

It’s a weird feeling that has been simmering in my head these past few months. It has grown louder with each passing day. This life is a funny old life.

I could never have imagined in April 2021 in Oakland that five and a half years later I would stand on the precipice of the goal: to see the Dodgers play in every MLB stadium… and somehow Tokyo. It’s understandably been a roller coaster week.

I meant to write a follow-up field report for Chicago, but I realized I’d said just about everything I needed to in the Guide Entry. I’ll update the Guide Entry, but I did finally find a decent seat at this ballpark. The problem is that the solution is what I will call the Daikin Park Solution: a club seat is really the only way to go.

Having to shell out $200-400 per game ticket is not a solution. It’s a joke. When spending that much per game is the only option, the real best option is to stay at home. The spot I had picked for the series finale seemed promising until people showed up; then the frequent comings and goings blocked the action.

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape

On this eve of completing the MLB circuit, I want to address a question I have gotten this year.

“Michael, you seem a heck of a lot meaner to Blue Jays’ fans than Yankees’ fans; what gives?”

I am generally not mean to anyone. However, I do have infinitely less sympathy for Blue Jays fans for a simple reason: I have never seen an organization or fanbase lean so hard into coming second. Yes, the Dodgers are probably overdoing it with Game 7 bobbleheads. In case you missed it, “The Catch” is finally coming to bobblehead form this September. Hang it in the Louvre.

Are we on the eve of getting a Justin Wrobleski marching towards the plate with arms extended bobblehead? Honestly, I hope not, because what would the next 2025 World Series bobblehead be? Justin Dean “Hands Up”? “The Legend of” Will Klein? “Shirtless” Clayton Kershaw?

As for our northern cousins, a combination of 50th anniversary gear (very cool) and AL Pennant gear. Imagine if the Dodgers had followed the same tack in 2018; the mockery would be loud and deserved. After 2017 broke me, there was a period of loss when the Dodgers felt so close yet so far. “Yu Darvish laying an egg in Game 7” became a running joke, until it came out that the Houston Astros cheated, which retraumatized me all over again.

However, I have never once said that the Dodgers should be awarded the 2017 title. Even with the Astros’ cheating, the Dodgers were a Kenley Jansen meatball (Game 2), a Clayton Kershaw not listening to his coaches (Game 5), or a Yu Darvish turkey (Game 7) away from winning.

But at the end of the day, three is less than four.

Vacatur was the appropriate remedy because the Astros screwed over a bunch of teams along the way, including the Yankees — unless you were the disinterested Commissioner trying to turn the page. The video of the Commissioner calling the trophy a piece of metal is hard to find, but sometimes life hands out a gift.

With this history in mind, hearing fans try to justify the 2025 Jays is personally irritating. I acknowledge it’s my burden to bear. It turns out that if you yell at me for four hours, I’m going to be a bit cross about it and let it color how magnanimous I feel.

Losing in the World Series stinks. I actually get it. The only thing worse is watching the team struggle itself back up the hill to lose even faster. I never watched Game 7 of 2017 or even knew its ending until seeing it by accident after the 2020 title. I had no such luxury in 2018.

I maintain the position that the toughest opponent the Dodgers faced in 2025 was the Philadelphia Phillies. That series could have, and probably would have, lasted longer if it had been Best of 7. This acknowledgment is not a request to lengthen the Division Series round to Best of 7 (please no), but rather an appreciation of the effort it took for the Phillies to make Shohei Ohtani look mortal.

All that drama, only to end on a play Bill Buckner would grimace at.

All the ink that has been spent on Dodgers/Padres could have gone to a much more interesting matchup we were denied. Sadly, it is a topic for another day, after I have returned from the City of Brotherly Love.

To be fair to the Blue Jays, the World Series we got last year was entertaining. However, I wouldn’t necessarily call it “good.” Games 1, 4, and 5 were duds; not because the Dodgers lost, but the outcomes were pretty much set from the get-go. Watching an old team be tired is generally not entertaining, especially if you have spent a lot of money to be there in person.

Game 2 was a tightrope, a tense, entertaining affair where Yoshinobu Yamamoto outdueled Kevin Gausman.

Game 3 was a classic, mostly due to its length and the sheer comical nature of parts of it. Had manager John Schneider not been so overly aggressive with pinch-running, the Blue Jays would have stood a better chance of winning it. Instead, the Jays fielded essentially a Spring Training lineup, which ultimately was their undoing that night.

Baserunning blunders sealed Games 6 and 7, which were 36 hours of pure baseball cinema.

Yes, the Blue Jays outhit and outpitched the Dodgers overall on a statistical level that Series, so you know who else recently outhit and outpitched the Dodgers overall in a Fall Classic only to lose? The hosts of the Dodgers’ next three games: The New York Yankees.

For as entitled as Yankees fans are generally thought to be, none of them went around two winters ago saying: “The Yankees outplayed the Dodgers and should have won that Series!” To be fair, 21 minutes of generational trauma, laying bare the worst things anyone has thought about the 2024 Yankees, is a lot harder to swallow than Jeff Hoffman coughing one up to Miguel Rojas.

As the Dodgers return to the Bronx for the first time since that fabled night in 2024, I face a solemn truth that has bothered me. In all my travels, the only team that I have yet to see play in person is the New York Yankees. I had the opportunity to go to Games 4 and 5 of the 2024 World Series, but I held back because I would have had to overextend myself.

To celebrate the Dodgers’ return to the Bronx, let us relive a bit of lost playoff coverage we ran out of time to publish two winters ago on the eve of the Dodgers’ return to the Bronx. The locals will likely be loud and eager to “welcome” the Dodgers back to New York. As a fun exercise, I thought it would be neat to annotate what never got to print with thoughts from now.

The Bronx Flop

“Recently,” Joe Kelly and Miguel Rojas have publicly confirmed what was apparent on the field in this World Series: the Yankees had no business being there. Normally, when the playoffs end, I generally stop paying attention to what the Dodgers say about their opponents. [Author’s Note: Yes, early 2025-me would probably judge and mock 2026-me.]

But unlike in recent years, the Dodgers opened up a bit more than expected. Dave Roberts called the NLDS the Dodgers’ biggest challenge in the playoffs, and that that series was the World Series:

We try not to venture into “talk radio” territory here at True Blue LA. And when Dodgers reliever, “now” free agent Joe Kelly, went off on the New York Yankees, I had a single thought in response:

That’s mighty big talk from someone who was not on the roster at any point in October.

With the second title in four years [Author’s Note: Out of date], with the first full-season title since the hallowed year of 1988, I let a lot of stuff slide, including when Mookie Betts was manhandled in Game 4 of the World Series. This fact remains true, even though I felt like a scold during that playoff run.

When someone interfered with Gleyber Torres’ ball in Game 2, Dodger fans around him and watching at home justifiably reacted in horror. To their credit, when this inattentive fan was kicked out of the stadium, the crowd did not give him adulation or high-fives.

When Betts was manhandled in Game 4, it was a far different story in the Bronx. These two jokers got a hero’s exit upon being ejected from Yankee Stadium. I was so horrified by everything that it was almost enough to make me wish dishonor on everyone at Yankee Stadium in Game 4, including any livestock they might own. [Author’s Note: Still banned!]

The following day, as a barometer, I showed the footage to my mother, who was largely ignorant of what was going on. Her outright horror was palpable, not just on Betts’ behalf, who handled himself as well as could be expected, but for the game itself. [Author’s Note: At the time, I did not know that Betts was her favorite Dodger, which explains a bit reaction-wise.]

Even after the World Series, on November 6th, Max Muncy was still pretty heated about the incident.

At the time, I figured Aaron Boone would have the final word, until he ruined the moment by whining about the Dodgers’ remarks.

And as much as I thought I would be able to move on, I cannot let this Series pass without commenting on the fact that one of my favorite actors was literally chased from Yankee Stadium.

The locals messed with The Bunk

Most of you do not know the name Wendell Pierce. Pierce is a distinguished actor from television and the stage. Pierce is widely regarded as the epitome of style and class. Pierce’s most famous role is arguably Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire. Finding a safe-for-work clip of Pierce as Bunk that was not a spoiler was a gargantuan task.

Pierce happens to be a fan of both the Yankees and the Dodgers and was in the enviable position of being able to attend games in both Los Angeles and New York, wearing the home team’s gear to enjoy this World Series.

While some may scoff at having both a National League and American League team to root for, good for him. I instantly thought of a friend of mine who is both a fan of the Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays and who treated the 2020 series as an invitation to anxiety.

I see someone in that dilemma as having a Sophie’s Choice — you can only pick one. But Pierce’s actions say otherwise, and frankly, good for him. Rather than letting this titan of acting enjoy his moment, he was accosted. Imagine my rage when he tweeted the following from Game 5 at Yankee Stadium.

Between the stupidity of Game 4 and the classlessness of Game 5, it would be easy to paint all Yankee fans with a broad brush. But to do so would be wrong. What frustrates me the most is that Yankee Stadium is one of the four remaining stadiums I have yet to visit for True Blue LA. [Author’s Note: Well, two now.]

I thought I could not dread visiting a place more than Houston, but considering everything that happened, the Bronx has joined that ignominious list. [Author’s Note: For the record, Houston was just as insufferable as I feared as I feared it would be. Score one for past-me as to foresight. Whether I have a better time is a question we will answer this weekend. Until I check in from the road!]

As we enter the second half, there are a few players and storylines I am going to watch. Obviously, the Nats offense has been fantastic this season, but to erase all lingering doubt about the sustainability of the group, they will have to keep performing. Today, I am going to take a look at three hitters to monitor following the All-Star Break.

This second half might be the most important stretch of games in Dylan Crews’ career. It might not be totally make or break, but it is pretty close. The former second overall pick was one of the most productive and decorated college players this century. However, his stardom at LSU has not translated to the big leagues.

After getting called in mid-May, Crews is hitting just .211 with a .613 OPS. There have been some moments to get excited about, but as has been the case for most of Crews’ pro career, it has been one step forward, two steps backwards. We are now 163 games into Crews’ career, and he is a career .211 hitter with a .627 OPS. He does have 19 homers and 34 steals in his career, but that is not enough to make up for the lack of overall hitting. 

When you compare his MLB numbers and college numbers, the fall off is pretty shocking. MLB Pipeline gave Crews a 70 hit tool and 60 power, but he has not come close to approaching that since leaving Baton Rouge. We saw that Paul Toboni is not afraid to dump underperforming big names, as he just shipped off Robert Hassell III for cash.

If Crews wants to avoid that fate, he needs to get going. Right now, it looks like his confidence is shaky and he was falling back into bad habits in the last couple of weeks. A lot of the raw tools are still there for Crews, but he needs to put it together quickly. If it is more of the same for the former LSU star, his spot in the Nationals outfield should be under massive threat heading into 2027.

The next player I want to talk about is a very different story, but also has plenty to prove in the second half. CJ Abrams has been highly productive this season, as one would expect from the National League’s starting shortstop in the All-Star game. However, Abrams will have to reverse a recent trend in the last few months of the season.

Over the last two seasons, Abrams has been awesome in the first half before hitting a wall down the stretch. Last season, Abrams hit .287 with an .836 OPS prior to the All-Star break. However, those numbers collapsed to .217 and .634 in the second half. Abrams was striking out more, walking less and was just less effective all around.

The drop off was even more extreme in 2024 though. He made his first All-Star team that year and was hitting .268 with an .832 OPS. In the second half, Abrams hit just .203 with a .586 OPS before his season ended prematurely following the whole casino fiasco in Chicago. 

It is worth noting that Abrams’ first half numbers are even better than they were in previous years. Right now, Abrams is hitting .275 with an .862 OPS. He is hitting for more power and taking more walks. 

Putting in extra work has been a big theme for Abrams this year. The 25 year old is well aware of what has happened the last two seasons, and wants to stay consistent for a full 162 games this year. There was a good story in the Baltimore Banner about how Abrams and James Wood, who also had a rough second half last year, are putting in extra work to stay sharp for the whole 162.

With better hitting coaches and this new approach, I have confidence that Abrams can stabilize in the second half. However, it would be crazy not to have some lingering concerns given what has happened in the last two years. 

There will also be some new distractions for Abrams this time around. His name is likely to be involved in trade rumors prior to the deadline. Hopefully he is able to drown out the outside noise and keep going in what has been a tremendous season for the shortstop.

Lastly, I want to talk about a player who has not had a terrible season, but has been fairly underwhelming given what he showed last year. Daylen Lile is an absolute joy to watch when he is at his best, but he has not been in peak form often enough this season. After an explosive September last year, Lile has come down to earth, hitting just .246 with a .698 OPS this season.

Those numbers, especially combined with his much improved defense, are not dreadful, but we all want to see more from Lile in the second half. It was the second half when Lile truly made a name for himself last year. The speedy outfielder hit .333 with a .956 OPS, capped off by winning NL Player of the Month in September. He was a triple machine, who was such a great hitter. 

We have seen greatness from Lile at times this year, but it just comes in explosive two or three game spurts before he tails off again. The biggest reason for Lile’s offensive regression comes from his plate discipline collapsing. His chase rate has gone from an above average 26.7% to 37.5%, the same rate as the infamously swing happy Keibert Ruiz.

Lile’s lack of discipline has made him easier to pitch to, as he just gets himself out a lot of times. Getting the best version of Lile back will make the Nats offense even more potent. We all know there is a great hitter in Daylen Lile, he just needs to stop pressing so much and get back to the basics.

The Nats have a lot to prove in the second half, but these three guys especially so. Cade Cavalli and literally anyone in the bullpen are honorable mentions as well. It was a tough way to end a strong first half, but now it is time for the Nats to get back on the horse and prove they are a team on the rise who can contend for years to come. Crews, Abrams and Lile proving themselves down the stretch will go a long way towards achieving that goal.