Category: Sports News

The MLB All-Star Game has served disparate purposes over the years. It always has been a showcase for baseball's top talent. Once upon a time, the outcome determined home field advantage in the World Series. In recent years, it has been a fashion runway for ridiculous uniforms.

This year, it will be an incubator.

The Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System will take its next measured step toward regular-season implementation when it is used in the All-Star Game on Tuesday in Atlanta.

Just as ABS was conducted during spring training, each team will get two challenges that can be made only by the pitcher, catcher or batter. Successful challenges are retained.

The player making a challenge taps his cap or helmet to let the plate umpire know that his ball or strike call will be reviewed. The ubiquitous Hawk-Eye system tracks the trajectory and location of the pitch and and a graphic of the pitch is displayed on the scoreboard while the call is being reviewed.

Read more:The Dodgers need a break, and a lot of help | Dodgers Debate

In the minor leagues, ABS has been tested since 2021 and the ABS challenge was implemented in 2022. Major leaguers got their first taste during spring training.

Result? Not much difference from the calls made by human umpires. Strikeouts were reduced slightly and walks increased a tick.

“We have made a lot of progress in the way the system works,” MLB vice president of on-field strategy Joe Martinez said at a media-demonstration session during spring training, “and also the way we weave the system into the game play. And we’re at a point in triple-A where we have a system that the players like, the coaches like, the umpires like and the fans like.”

The shape of a major league strike zone as called by umpires isn't the precise cube seen on television but takes a rounded form that bulges wider in the middle of the zone and tightens at the top and bottom.

Human umpires continue to improve, in no small part because pitch tracking puts every call under a microscope. MLB umpires have improved their accuracy in calling balls and strikes every year since pitch tracking technology was introduced in 2008, according to FanGraphs. Accuracy has spiked from 81.3% to 92.4%. Expressed another way, incorrect calls have been reduced by nearly 60% in 15 years.

Read more:Clayton Kershaw grateful for ‘weird but cool’ All-Star selection as ‘Legend Pick’

Major League Baseball negotiated a change with the umpires association last offseason in how home-plate umpires are evaluated, effectively tightening the strike zone. The change decreased the margin of error for umpires in their evaluations, resulting in fewer called strikes off the edges of the plate.

Still, a handful of calls are missed in nearly every game, and the all-stars will have an opportunity to tap their caps and challenge at least two calls per team. Should the experiment be a hit with participants and fans, the next step will be for the 11-person MLB competition committee to consider implementing the challenge system for the 2026 regular season.

All-Star notes

— All-Stars will wear what they wear during regular-season games, meaning those unsightly uniforms that were uniformly panned by players and fans the last several years will remain in a closet somewhere. This will be the first year since 2019 that players wear the regular-season uniforms of their teams.

— Department of serendipity: The All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday (7/15) in Atlanta, the number and location of Hank Aaron's historic home run in 1974 that vaulted him past Babe Ruth to become MLB's all-time leader at the time. Hammerin' Hank blasted No. 715 off the Dodgers' Al Downing at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The tribute will re-create the moment through the use of projection mapping and custom pyrotechnics at the end of the sixth inning.

— MLB All-Star week begins Saturday with the Futures Game. The MLB draft will be held Sunday, the Home Run Derby is scheduled for Monday with the All-Star Game taking place Tuesday.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Robbie Ray replaced on National League All-Star roster due to start vs. Dodgers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Robbie Ray earned his second MLB All-Star selection, but the Giants southpaw won’t be making an appearance in this season’s Midsummer Classic.

Ray is scheduled to start San Francisco’s matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at Oracle Park, with the player and the club deciding to opt out of the former Cy Young winner making an appearance in the July 15 exhibition game.

Ray is being replaced on the National League’s roster by New York Mets pitcher David Peterson.

David Peterson has been added to the National League All-Star team 💪

He replaces Robbie Ray on the NL's active roster. pic.twitter.com/ng406EPxHE

— MLB (@MLB) July 10, 2025

MLB’s former rule stipulated that any pitchers making a start on the Sunday before the All-Star break would be deemed ineligible to appear in the Midsummer Classic. Now, both the team and player have the option to decide if they will appear in the All-Star Game.

The Giants pushed for Tyler Rogers to replace Ray, with the submariner posting All-Star-caliber numbers with a 1.62 ERA in 44 innings pitched during the 2025 MLB season. Ultimately, MLB opted to go with Peterson instead.

Giants have had Ray lined up for this start for a few days. It means he can't pitch in the All-Star Game, and they're pushing to have Tyler Rogers get that spot (it may be difficult since they've already had three pitchers selected). https://t.co/8sBcqH7ZrY

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) July 9, 2025

Ray has been one of the NL’s best starting pitchers this season, posting a 9-3 record with a 2.63 ERA in 19 starts. While Ray won’t pitch in the Midsummer Classic, the All-Star selection still remains on his resume, forever highlighting his stellar first half.

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Mets designated hitter Jesse Winker could be heading back to the IL just a few days after returning from an extended absence.

Winker, who exited Thursday's game against the Orioles after just one at-bat due to back tightness, is being sent back to New York for an MRI, manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game.

Mendoza noted that an IL stint is a possibility.

If Winker lands on the IL, the Mets will essentially be without a regular DH until after the All-Star break, which begins for them after Sunday's game in Kansas City.

Starling Marte landed on the IL on Tuesday, retroactive to July 7. The expectation is that he'll be able to return right after the break, with the Mets beginning the second half against the Reds on July 18 at Citi Field.

On the at-bat before he came out, Winker popped out to end the first inning. He was pinch-hit for in the fourth inning by Mark Vientos.

The 31-year-old was playing in just his second game since May 4 after returning from the injured list on Tuesday after working his way back from an oblique injury.

Winker was hitting .239 with a .739 OPS (112 OPS+) prior to his oblique injury, totaling just one home run and 10 RBI.

The lefty hit .286 with two home runs, a double, seven RBI, and five walks over five games in the minor leagues during his rehab assignment.

There's no need for us to get into an argument over this. The season is over and even the glass-bangers are sorry they made fools of themselves.

But it suddenly dawned on The Maven that I should have put together a "My Rangers Most Valuable Player List."

MY MVPS:

1. WILL CUYLLE: He sets the best example with all-round hustle and goals.

2. ARTEMI PANARIN: The Breadman is so far ahead of the other scorers, it's scary.

3. BRADEN SCHNEIDER:  Growing by the season, he's the best blue liner. (And don't tell me that's not saying much.

4. VINNIE TROCHECK: He's the best go-to guy for a post-game quote. 

MLB insider doubles down on Jarren Duran-to-Padres possibility originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox’ outfield logjam is the elephant in the room with the 2025 MLB trade deadline approaching.

Even if they’re technically buyers ahead of the deadline, the Red Sox are expected to part ways with at least one member of their crowded outfield. The emergence of top prospect Roman Anthony has resulted in Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu being mentioned in trade rumors as Boston prioritizes pitching help.

Duran has been linked to the San Diego Padres since early June, when The Athletic reported the 2024 All-Star Game MVP was on their list of trade targets. Their interest comes as little surprise given their glaring weakness in left field.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan listed the Padres as one of Duran’s “best fits” last month, and he doubled down on that assertion Thursday by naming him as the “best match” for San Diego.

“No player and team have been linked as strongly as Duran and the Padres — and that’s without any knowledge of how the Red Sox intend to handle the deadline,” Passan wrote. “Roman Anthony’s emergence has put Boston in a position to float Duran and Wilyer Abreu in trade discussions, and whether it’s now or over the winter, Boston wants to use its surplus of bats to fill voids elsewhere.

“Left field in San Diego is among the biggest voids in the game. The Padres have tried eight players in left this season, and collectively they’re barely have an OPS of over .600. A Duran-Jackson Merrill-Fernando Tatis Jr. outfield would be a factory of dynamism that would be under team control through the end of the 2028 season.

“The Padres might need to get creative — beyond shortstop Leo De Vries (who’s believed to be off-limits) and catcher Ethan Salas, their farm system is middling — but nobody does creativity like GM A.J. Preller. And whether that means facilitating a deal through a third team or including one of their high-leverage relievers such as closer Robert Suárez, San Diego is willing to go places most other organizations would never consider.”

The Red Sox’ primary outfield currently consists of Duran in left, Ceddanne Rafaela in center, and Abreu in right. Anthony has spent 19 games in right and nine as the designated hitter, though his recent switch to left field suggests Boston is preparing to make it his primary position.

Theoretically, the Red Sox could take advantage of Rafaela’s versatility and move him to second base, with Duran sliding to center and Anthony sticking in left. But Rafaela is arguably the best defensive center fielder in the game, and moving him to second would give top infield prospect Marcelo Mayer no clear path to consistent playing time when third baseman Alex Bregman returns from injury.

It’s a complicated situation for chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, but he told WEEI on Thursday that trading one of his outfielders isn’t a necessity.

“It’s something that you would have to consider if there was an opportunity to improve the team elsewhere,” Breslow said on The Greg Hill Show. “But I think it’s really important to point out that we don’t have to trade one of the outfielders simply because we have more guys that are capable of contributing than can start every night.”

Duran is slashing .262/.318/.438 with an MLB-leading 10 triples, eight homers, and 50 RBI in 93 games. He has caught fire in July, posting a 1.154 OPS with 11 RBI in eight games.

Riding a six-game win streak, the Red Sox will wrap up their first half with a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park.