Category: Sports News

Kyle Schwarber's huge night puts him on MVP short list originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has been the odds-on favorite to win his fourth National League MVP award since before the season even began. He tightened his stranglehold on the race through the end of June, leading the NL in homers, OPS, and extra-base hits.

As for Kyle Schwarber, he has largely toiled in obscurity, a distant third on the list behind Ohtani and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs as recently as last week. Some books didn’t even have odds for him a month ago.

However, Schwarber’s annual June hot streak began a bit later than usual. But it’s here, and it has been a game-changer in the MVP race.

Tuesday night’s performance against the Orioles was the latest haymaker thrown by Schwarber, two resounding left hooks that laid waste to errant pitches. A two-run smash that tied the game at 3-3, then a TKO grand slam in the team’s eight-run sixth inning.

Since July 1, Schwarber leads the NL in homers (15) and RBIs (37), and he’s second in OPS (1.140). Ohtani’s insurmountable lead in the MVP race has been decimated. At FanDuel, for example, he is still a -650 favorite, but Schwarber is on the radar, second-best at +550. PCA is now third at +1300.

Surely, Ohtani adds value to his team with his pitching ability. But looking purely at the offensive numbers, it’s nearly a dead heat:

These two titans have put on quite a show. The final eight weeks of the regular season should be electric. It’s a shame there can only be one winner.

Kyle Schwarber's huge night puts him on MVP short list originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has been the odds-on favorite to win his fourth National League MVP award since before the season even began. He tightened his stranglehold on the race through the end of June, leading the NL in homers, OPS, and extra-base hits.

As for Kyle Schwarber, he has largely toiled in obscurity, a distant third on the list behind Ohtani and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs as recently as last week. Some books didn’t even have odds for him a month ago.

However, Schwarber’s annual June hot streak began a bit later than usual. But it’s here, and it has been a game-changer in the MVP race.

Tuesday night’s performance against the Orioles was the latest haymaker thrown by Schwarber, two resounding left hooks that laid waste to errant pitches. A two-run smash that tied the game at 3-3, then a TKO grand slam in the team’s eight-run sixth inning.

Since July 1, Schwarber leads the NL in homers (15) and RBIs (37), and he’s second in OPS (1.140). Ohtani’s insurmountable lead in the MVP race has been decimated. At FanDuel, for example, he is still a -650 favorite, but Schwarber is on the radar, second-best at +550. PCA is now third at +1300.

Surely, Ohtani adds value to his team with his pitching ability. But looking purely at the offensive numbers, it’s nearly a dead heat:

These two titans have put on quite a show. The final eight weeks of the regular season should be electric. It’s a shame there can only be one winner.

Breaking down eight players Giants acquired in deals at 2025 MLB trade deadline originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — The trade deadline often is about what you get back, but because of the specific pieces the Giants traded away last week, that wasn’t really the case initially. 

In Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers, Buster Posey and Zack Minasian traded away not just their eighth- and ninth-inning guys, but also the two longest-tenured pitchers in the bullpen. Outfielder Mike Yastrzemski was the longest-tenured position player and was very popular with the fans who have filled Oracle Park all summer. 

It was a somber stretch for the organization, and the initial reaction was to say goodbye to three players who had become big parts of the franchise. But over the next two months and beyond, the focus will be on what came back. 

The Giants got eight players in the three trades, including seven who still are in the minor leagues. The reaction from around the league was that they did very well in the Rogers deal, in particular, but Posey felt like the entire haul will help future Giants teams. There definitely was an emphasis on adding some players who are close to the big leagues, and that should help the 2026 group try to reach the postseason. 

“You want to feel pretty good about what you’re getting back,” he said last week. “We feel like we added to the system, and yeah, it’s a huge plus to get players like (Blade) Tidwell and (Drew) Gilbert, who we think are very close to major league ready.”

Both could be options later this month or in September, and some of the others aren’t far behind. Here’s a look at what the Giants got back at the deadline, beginning with the one player they already have used: 

José Buttó, right-handed reliever

The only acquired player to go right onto the big league roster, Buttó pulled a reverse Tyler Rogers. He was a Met who became a Giant, and over the weekend he pitched well against his former teammates. Like Rogers, he even joined his previous team on the flight back to New York on Wednesday. 

Buttó has three strikeouts in two scoreless appearances for the Giants. For the season, he has a 3.47 ERA and 3.31 FIP, and those numbers are 3.40 and 3.84 over parts of four seasons. While Rogers will be a free agent at the end of the year, Buttó is under team control through 2030, so if he sticks, he could give the Giants a nice cost-controlled bullpen weapon for a few years. 

The slider is the pitch Buttó used often against his former teammates over the weekend, and it has been his best pitch. Opponents are hitting just .182 off it this season. 

Blade Tidwell, right-handed pitcher

Tidwell joined Buttó in going right on the 40-man roster, which was necessary after he made four appearances for the Mets earlier this season. They didn’t go well, as he allowed 15 earned runs in 15 innings, with 10 walks to 10 strikeouts and four homers allowed. 

Tidwell’s first two appearances came as a starter and the second two as a long reliever, and the question moving forward is whether he will stick as a rotation option or move to the ‘pen. 

Taken 14 picks ahead of Carson Whisenhunt in the 2022 draft and signed to an over-slot deal, the Tennessee product thus far has been developed purely as a starter. Of his 73 minor league appearances, 66 have been starts, and he has a 4.13 ERA with 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings. Tidwell has had command issues, but his walk rate this year is his lowest as a professional. 

Minasian said the Giants liked Tidwell’s “plus breaking ball” and Baseball America has his slider as his best pitch. If he ends up in the bullpen, his velocity and a good slider would be a nice combo; he hit 99 mph in one of his big league appearances and averaged 96 mph with his four-seamer across those 15 innings. 

Drew Gilbert, outfielder

Tidwell entered the Giants’ MLB Pipeline top 30 list at No. 12 and Gilbert came in at No. 13. The two were teammates at Tennessee and Gilbert went 28th overall to the Houston Astros in the 2022 draft, ahead of Tidwell and Whisenhunt and two picks ahead of Giants first-rounder Reggie Crawford. 

Gilbert played in the 2023 Futures Game, but he wasn’t an Astro for long. He was a big piece in the deal that brought Justin Verlander back to Houston from New York at the deadline in 2023. Before the next season, Gilbert was a consensus top-100 prospect. 

Gilbert has a .261/.361./453 slash line in the minors with 44 homers, 14 of which have come this season. He had some hamstring issues after getting drafted and hasn’t run much, but he is considered a good defensive center fielder with a plus arm that should allow him to play right at Oracle Park. Given that he already has more than 600 plate appearances in Triple-A, it shouldn’t be long before his MLB debut. 

Minasian said the Giants like that Gilbert “plays with an edge.” He also watches Tidwell’s dog occasionally, which should be on his scouting report: 

Jesus Rodriguez, catcher

The 23-year-old has been the DH for Sacramento in his first two games, but at some point the Giants will throw him behind the plate, and that might determine how the entire Doval trade is graded. 

Rodriguez was the biggest piece in that deal, which brought back four players, and Posey spoke passionately about his talent after the deadline.

“I know (he) is not ranked very high (but) the guy, all he has done is hit,” he said. “I think he has been a player that, listening to our pro scouting department talk about him, that has kind of come on the scene a little bit later. He has never really been a famous guy (but) you’re a .308 career hitter in the minor leagues, you watch his swing and he sprays the ball all over the field. We’re happy and excited about him.”

Rodriguez has hit at least .296 in every professional season and has a .395 OBP in six minor league years. He only has reached double-digit homers once, but the Giants are buying into the hit tool and low strikeout rate — and the idea that he can catch. 

Rodriguez has caught and played both corner infield spots, but he has a strong arm and Minasian said he thinks he “can be a quality defensive catcher.” If that’s the case, he should be Patrick Bailey’s backup next season, and as a right-handed hitter, he’s an ideal partner. That’s something the Giants haven’t had the last couple of years. 

Trystan Vrieling, right-handed pitcher

Born in Idaho and raised in Washington State, Vrieling grew up a Giants fan. He told Trey Wilson of the Richmond Flying Squirrels that he was “shocked” to be in a trade for Doval. 

“Man, I had watched Doval throw for a long time,” he said on Wilson’s podcast.

Vrieling was drafted out of Gonzaga in 2022 but missed all of the next season with an elbow fracture. He has a 4.36 ERA in the minor leagues while featuring a deep pitch mix. 

Minasian noted that Vrieling’s velocity is trending up, and the Giants saw him at 95 mph consistently just before the deadline. Vrieling also throws a cutter, two sliders, a curve and changeup. If he can find a reliable mix, he could be a back-end starter down the line. 

Parks Harber, corner infielder

Undrafted out of UNC, Harber had a .914 OPS in A-ball this year, but there’s a caveat. He turns 24 next month, so he’s pretty old for that level and the Giants probably will want to test him against better competition whenever he returns from the IL, which he was on at the time of the deal.

Harber is 6-foot-3, 225 pounds and he hit 20 homers as a college junior. He has played first base and third base this year, and batted .326 after a promotion to High-A. 

Carlos De La Rosa, left-handed pitcher

If you would like to feel old as you read this, note that De La Rosa was born in 2007. He’s exactly the type of player you want thrown into a deal like this one. 

The lefty is 17 years old and has just 22 professional innings in the Dominican Summer League, with a promising 36 strikeouts. He has a low 90s fastball that has hit 96 mph, and Minasian referred to him as a prospect with “upside.” Baseball America notes that De La Rosa has the “highest ceiling” of the four players that got traded for Doval. 

It’s possible that De La Rosa finds more velo as he gets older and stronger and turns into a really good prospect. It’s also possible this is the last we hear of him. It’s a lottery ticket, the type that front offices love. 

Yunior Marte, right-handed pitcher

You don’t get much for trading rentals like Yastrzemski, but the Giants seem to have done pretty well here. The 21-year-old Marte — not to be confused with the other Yunior Marte, who once was a Giant and got traded for Erik Miller — was slowed by a meniscus injury earlier in his career, but he’s having a very good year. 

In 19 starts in A-ball before the deal, Marte had a 2.74 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. He has 79 strikeouts in 82 innings, and he has limited walks and homers as a professional. 

Listed at 6-foot-5, Marte has a low 90s fastball that has touched 97. MLB Pipeline views him as a potential No. 4 starter, with the possibility of being a good bullpen fit down the line, too.

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Don't panic, Red Sox fans. Roman Anthony's injury doesn't appear serious originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Just before the start of Monday night’s Boston Red Sox-Kansas City Royals game, Sox manager Alex Cora made a last-minute lineup switch that had fans scrolling their social feeds for updates.

Roman Anthony, the Sox rookie star who has helped propel the team to first place in the Wild Card race, was scratched from the lineup, but it wasn’t immediately clear why. Was he ill? Did he suffer an injury? Was the future of the season in jeopardy?

As it turns out, Anthony wasn’t seriously injured, but experienced some mid-back tightness, and the team chose to replace him in right field with Wilyer Abreu as a precaution.

“Came out to the line, everything felt normal all day, and I felt something as I was standign on the line. Just figured we’d be cautious with it,” Anthony said after the game. “It just was super uncomfortable, and I relayed that quickly and we just decided we were going to shut it down.”

Anthony is expected to sit out Tuesday’s game as well, but could be back in the lineup as soon as Wednesday.

“Yeah, obviously, I’ll get with the training staff and figure that out, but already definitely trending in the right direction and feeling better than it was earlier,” Anthony said.

As it turned out, the Sox didn’t need Anthony on Monday anyway, as they beat the Royals 8-5 behind strong pitching from starter Brayan Bello and strong offensive performances from Jarren Duran and Rob Refsnyder.