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The Orioles keep finding ways to beat themselves. This isn’t a hot take or even a fresh one. The book is out on the Baltimore Orioles. There are several talented players, but they will not beat you with sound baseball. They are the opposite of those pesky teams that play the game the right way and sneak out close wins. They are 6-13 in one-run games.

Still, the woeful American League has kept Baltimore within five games of a playoff spot. The third wild card, paired with a potentially desperate Mike Elias, has kept the concept of competing in 2026 alive. There is enough talent to see an above .500 baseball team if you look through the right lense, but it’s growing more difficult by the day.

I can’t manage an optimistic approach right now, but I can point out that several things need to change if this team is going to get hot in the second half. It feels like a cop-out to just say hit better, pitch better, and play better defense, so here’s my best crack at some changes that the team can implement starting today.

Give up the third catcher

Offensive catchers have been described as a “cheat code.” The Orioles have two of them. Both Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo possess legitimate middle-of-the-order bats, and the team routinely pencils them both into the lineup. It’s a luxury to have one catcher that can handle himself at the dish, but having two is extremely rare. On paper, Baltimore should receive a legitimate boost on day games when other teams are forced to implement a traditionally light-hitting backstop.

The Orioles are currently using an additional roster spot on catcher Chadwick Tromp. The Birds were happy to get Tromp back in the organization with Rutschman on the 7-day IL, and the team elected to keep Tromp over Sam Huff.

It’s easy to understand why the Orioles want to provide Rutschman and Basallo extra rest. Baltimore gave Rutschman a breather last night, but Tromp remained on the bench. Basallo is obviously capable of catching when Rutschman gets the day off, and the team could use the roster spot on the recently optioned Jeremiah Jackson or another position player.

Address the issue at third base

I’ve spend an unhealthy amount of time wondering how a healthy Jordan Westburg could help this team, but he’s not walking through that door. Right now, the Orioles only have Coby Mayo and Blaze Alexander for the hot corner. Mayo’s defensive woes have been well documented, but Alexander recently stepped into the spotlight. Alexander’s late error brought boo’s from the crowd on Monday night, and he holds a -4.2 UZR/150 rating at the position this year.

Coby Mayo was always going to be a bat-first baseball player. The corner infielder holds a .295/.368/.721 slash line against left-handed pitching this season. He’s hitting .148/.215/.235 against the righties. It’s fine if the Orioles want a bad defender on the field because of a 1.089 OPS, but they simply have to stop putting Mayo on the field when facing a right-handed pitcher.

I get that Gunnar Henderson doesn’t want to play third base, but he probably doesn’t want to keep losing games either. The Orioles probably do not trust Jackson Holliday’s defense at shortstop either, but it’s time to try something different. Sliding the two infielders to their right would allow Alexander and a recalled Jackson to split time at second.

If the team really is a buyer, they could strike a deal for a third baseman or a shortstop capable of hitting right-handed pitching. There’s no rule that you have to break the bank for a guy like Matt Chapman or wait until the end of July.

Activate Dean Kremer and keep a five-man rotation

The Orioles have forfeited their buffer when it comes to keeping Trey Gibson in the starting rotation. Gibson has pitched like a rookie that’s still figuring things out, and that’s completely reasonable. Craig Albernaz clearly does not trust the rookie to face opponents a third time through the order, and that’s something that really only comes with time.

Unfortunately, the Orioles are out of time. Gibson could use the reps, and Kyle Bradish could probably use an extra day of rest every once and awhile, but the team needs its best five guys taking the ball every five days. Kremer should return from the injured list this week, and Gibson should probably return to Norfolk’s starting rotation.

On Monday, the wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field at 15 miles per hour on a hot evening. Not a single home run left the yard.

On Tuesday, the wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field at 19 miles per hour on a hot evening, 92 degrees at game time. Nine home runs – five by the Cubs and four by the Padres – headed to the bleachers (and Waveland!). The wind didn’t actually have much to do with it, as only one of the home runs Tuesday was wind-aided. The Cubs outlasted the Padres 9-7 during this home-run festival, their fourth win in a row and 14th in their last 18 games.

The long balls began on the fifth pitch of the game by Matthew Boyd. Fernando Tatis Jr. deposited that baseball on Waveland:

But that’s all the Padres would get in that inning. Boyd set down the next three hitters on just seven pitches.

The Cubs wasted no time getting that run back. With one out, Alex Bregman walked. He was forced at second by Seiya Suzuki, but when Tatis’ throw went into the Padres dugout, Suzuki took second.

Carson Kelly singled in Suzuki [VIDEO].

In the top of the second, Nico Hoerner flashed some glove [VIDEO].

Nico stole a hit from Jackson Merrill and turned it into an out. This is just another example of how good the Cubs defense is.

The Cubs took the lead in the second. With one out, Swanson sent a ball deep into the left-field bleachers [VIDEO].

After that, Kevin Alcántara singled and Pete Crow-Armstrong walked.

Then Alex Bregman launched one [VIDEO].

That was Bregman’s first home run since June 11 and just his second of the month. Maybe, just maybe, this will begin a good run for him.

The Padres made it 5-3 off Matthew Boyd in the third with another long ball, this one a two-run shot by Manny Machado. That could have been more if not for yet another diving play by Nico [VIDEO].

After that, Boyd settled down and didn’t allow any further runs into the sixth. He helped himself out with his own defense to end the fifth [VIDEO].

Meanwhile, the Cubs extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth with more long balls. With one out, Michael Busch hit his 10th [VIDEO].

One out later, Ian Happ singled and Swanson smashed his second home run of the evening [VIDEO].

Swanson had a huge series in New York, didn’t do anything in Milwaukee and now has had two good games against the Padres. Over his last 12 games: .340/373/.830 (16-for-47) with three doubles, a triple, six home runs, 21 (!) RBI, four stolen bases and 12 runs scored. In that span he’s raised his season OPS from .587 to .691.

Boyd allowed two singles leading off the San Diego sixth and was lifted for Javier Assad, who immediately got Xander Bogaerts to hit into a double play, then got another out to end the inning. The Cubs made it 9-3 in the bottom of the inning on PCA’s 18th home run [VIDEO].

Okay, that one needed a bit of help from the wind.

Assad threw a scoreless seventh and then ran out of gas in the eighth. Gavin Sheets smacked a three-run homer and Tatis went deep for the second time to make it 9-7. A walk brought Machado to the plate as the potential tying run. Tyler Ferguson entered the game and struck him out [VIDEO].

The Cubs got two runners on leading off the bottom of the eighth, but could not score.

Ferguson began the ninth inning by getting two fly balls to left. With Merrill coming to bat, Craig Counsell summoned Ryan Rolison to finish things off. It took Rolison just three pitches to get another fly to left to end the game [VIDEO].

For Rolison, it was his first career MLB save. The Cubs have now had 10 different pitchers record saves this year. In addition to Rolison: Daniel Palencia, Jacob Webb, Caleb Thielbar, Colin Rea, Hoby Milner, Ben Brown, Trent Thornton, Jordan Wicks and Corbin Martin. The leader is still Palencia… with three.

About the Cubs’ five-homer game, from BCB’s JohnW53:

The Cubs had hit three home runs in nine of their 85 games this season before this game. This is their first with more than three.

Last year, they hit at least four in 17 games, eight of them at home. Their longest stretch with no more than three was 36 games.

They went 92 games between four-homer ones in 2024, 80 in 2023, 69 in 2022 and 64 in 2021.

Their last game before this one with at least five homers was the one where they set the franchise record of eight, July 4, 2025 against the Cardinals.

Here’s Dansby on his two-homer game [VIDEO].

And here are Craig Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].

The Cubs thus finish June on a roll. After a rough start to the month they end it with a 16-10 record, and as noted earlier, a four-game winning streak and a 14-4 run. The Brewers also won Tuesday so the Cubs continue to trail them by 5.5 games in the NL Central.

The Cubs will go for a series sweep over the Padres Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field and it’s supposed to be hot and windy again. Colin Rea will start for the Cubs and Walker Buehler goes for San Diego. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

The Hall of Fame Indexwas first published in 201o. It had been in the works for nearly a decade at that point. The whole point was to establish a systematic way of looking at Hall of Fame candidates and those already in the Hall of Fame. At its best, it measures fitness for the Hall of Fame and aims to put players into groups with other similar players so we can compare them.

The sequel was published in 2020. It obviously updated numbers for players that were currently active, but also adjusted the formula as we got more information. One of the key things in statistical analysis is that we are always learning something new. The formula is similar to JAWS, but has a couple of key differences. First, it combines baseball-reference.com WAR and Fangraphs.com WAR into one number. I do that for two main reasons. First and foremost, the more data the better in most instances. It gives us a cross-section of what keen sabermetric minds feel about a player.

The second reason is that there is always an intellectual divide on these things. The old formulas included win shares, but since Bill James retired, there is no longer an update on current win shares, so that one has been dropped from the formula. Like JAWS, the index includes a peak value element. However, the peak value is made up of ten seasons. I have gotten push back on this and the push back is perfectly reasonable. I chose ten years because you need to play at least ten years to get into the Hall of Fame and ten years gives you slightly more data than the seven years that JAWS brings.

That is important distinction because I do not profile any players until they have been in the league for at least ten seasons. So, as we compare Alex Bregman to his contemporaries, there are five third baseman that make the list. I will not speak for Jay Jaffe (the creator of JAWS) but the index was never meant to rank order players. It was meant to place players into groups with other similar players so that we can directly compare them using other means. I have done this before with Bregman, but since we are at the midway point of the 2026 season, it is a good time to revisit it.

It’s at this point where I feel the need to reiterate the idea that the index was not meant to rank order players. I would argue that Ramirez is better because he is still trending up where Machado seems to be spinning his wheels, but the numbers by themselves do not prove he is better. They show he is slightly more fit for Cooperstown and that is an important distinction. It is the other tests that will show who is actually better.

As for Bregman, these scores are meant to peg him historically so that we can talk about his career in the proper context. Ironically, he is most similar to another well-known third baseman that finished his career with the Cubs. Ron Cey finished with a higher career value than Bregman, but Bregman is still going. When the dust settles they will probably sit right next to each other and almost look like the same player.

I should point out that Chapman is officially in his tenth season, so anything he does for the remainder of the year will be added to the career and peak value categories. So, he is also close to Bregman in terms of value. If you read the Altuve article, you know we will look at offensive numbers, fielding numbers, MVP voting, and playoff numbers to give us an idea of who might belong and who might not.

Offensive Numbers

I really invite you to read the Altuve article from Monday for a help with the statistical breakdowns. To put it in simple terms, rOBA can be compared to on base percentage and ROV can be compared to batting average. They both include both on base and slugging elements, but in terms of what is good or not good, they are fairly easy to interpret that way. Even without the explanation, we can clearly see that these guys are all fairly similar for the most part.

In a historical context this makes things challenging. How many Hall of Famers should an era have at any one position? If you are the fifth best third baseman from an era are you really a Hall of Famer? That’s a nuanced and difficult question to answer. Each period has strong positions and weak positions. We saw that second base is relatively shallow at the moment. We will see on Friday that shortstop is similar to third base in terms of depth. So far, none of these guys is really distinguishing themselves as above the rest. Ramirez comes closest in some categories, but we will need to look at fielding first.

Fielding Numbers

Perceptive people will notice one thing immediately: Rfield and DRS are basically the same. It’s because they are the same. Why do we include both? BWAR officially bases the fielding part of the formula on Rfield. If you go to Fangraphs, you will see defensive runs saved (DRS), outs above average (OAA), and fielding run value (FRV). Those two numbers are usually lower because they are more recent and have some seasons missing, but also because they are compiled differently. FWAR is built using OAA and FRV and not DRS.

I’ve made no bones about the fact that I refuse to take sides in the debate over which metric is best. All three are designed by people far smarter than me. What we can see in a general sense is that all of these guys are considered to be at least above average with the glove. Arenado and Chapman are clearly head and shoulders above the other three.

Arenado is likely in the finishing stages of his career, so his defensive value will be fairly fixed. Chapman is still close to the prime of his career, so he still could add some value on the back end. Similarly, Ramirez is also closer to his prime, so he could add some value there as well. As an analyst, I would stay these numbers tend to put Arenado’s career in a much different light.

MVP Voting

The MVP points test is important for two reasons. First, it is a different way of expressing peak value. It answers the question of whether a player was ever the best player in the league. According to BWAR, Bregman and Arenado led the league once in BWAR. Neither won an MVP. That spills us into the second reason why this test is valuable. It shows us the difference between how a player was perceived and how he actually performed. Four of the five third basemen here were under-appreciated.

The points are weighted more heavily the higher in the MVP standings you finish. Baseball-reference also does us a solid by enumerating how many times a player finished in the top ten in BWAR. In his landmark book “Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame,” Bill James asks a series of questions. Usually it starts with how often you are the best player on your team? How often were you the best player at your position? Were you ever the best player in the league?

Answering no to any of those questions is not an automatic no. For instance, Tony Perez was never the best player on those Big Red Machine Reds teams, but fans and analysts alike would agree they aren’t who they were without him. However, an answer of yes in Bregman and Arenado’s case is a feather in their cap. It is another check mark on a spreadsheet of questions you ask if someone is trying to get into the Hall of Fame.

Postseason Numbers

The spreadsheet motif fits here. I have a hard time taking anyone knocking Arenado based on 35 plate appearances seriously. He does not check the postseason success box. Chapman doesn’t either even those his numbers are not awful. Postseason performance is a function of opportunity and we could say Bregman has made the most of his opportunity. At least we could say he has done more with his opportunity than any of these players did.

Postseason success is a tiebreaker. If you aren’t sure where to go on a player then the success in the playoffs can push him over the top. Bregman is not a borderline Hall of Famer yet. He could be depending on what he does for the next few seasons in Chicago. If he finds his way into the neighborhood where Ramirez, Machado, and Arenado are swimming then his postseason numbers will help considerably.

Alex Bregman is closest to Matt Williams and Larry Gardner historically. Who is Larry Gardner you ask? If you have to ask then that tells you Bregman is not quite there yet. He will likely be close to the likes of Toby Harrah and Josh Donaldson at the end of the season. That’s good, but not quite good enough. If he throws a few more three or four win seasons on the board then we can start talking. Like everything else, it will all depend on how he ages.

Meet the Mets

The Mets beat the Blue Jays 3-0 behind a dominant pitching performance by Nolan McLean, who struck out seven batters in six scoreless innings.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Faith and Fear in Flushing, MLB.com, New York Daily News, New York Post

The Mets signed Christopher Morel to a minor league contract after his release by the Marlins last Friday.

John Harper dealt a midseason grade to the Mets defense, and in a surprise to no one, he didn’t give them high marks.

Clay Holmes will throw a bullpen session in the coming days, which puts him ahead of schedule in his recovery process (and could provide him with more value on the trade market).

The Mets need to take special care with the mental fortitude of their young players in the midst of a lost season.

Steve Gelbs reviewed the Rogers Centre hot dog as part of his Let’s Be Frank series, and he gave it a number right down the middle.

Nolan McLean threw a curveball last night that seemed genuinely unreal by the numbers.

McLean’s start was one of his best all year, and he’s been looking better on the whole as of late.

Luis Robert Jr. began his rehab assignment in Syracuse last night, playing five innings in center field and going 1-for-2 with a walk.

Around the National League East

The benches cleared during the Nationals game against the Red Sox after Willson Contreras struck out and was told by Cade Cavalli to “sit down, boy!”

The Nationals ended up handily defeating the Red Sox 8-1. Cavalli went seven innings, allowing a single unearned run, giving up one hit, and striking out thirteen batters.

The Phillies dominated the Pirates 8-0. Cristopher Sánchez spun another gem, going seven scoreless innings while giving up three hits and two walks while striking out nine.

The Braves were bested by the Cardinals 5-3. Martín Pérez gave up four runs in five innings, allowing five hits and walking three batters.

The Marlins humiliated the Rockies 14-3. Griffin Conine and Xavier Edwards each collected four hits, as Conine drove in two runs and Edwards drove in one.

Around Major League Baseball

Harborfield native Sean Keys’ power propelled him to the majors, and he got the start at first for the Blue Jays last night.

The Dodgers’ plans ahead of the trade deadline aren’t focused on Tarik Skubal or major league talent generally, but improving their minor league depth.

The Red Sox have found themselves back in the playoff race, thanks in no small part to the general quality (or lack thereof) of teams in the American League.

MLB and the MLBPA have donated $1 million to Venezuelan earthquake relief efforts.

WAR has become a top statistic within baseball, to the chagrin of some fans, but there are some changes it must make to keep from harming certain players in pre-arbitration pools and awards voting.

MLB has lost its bid to trademark the phrase “play ball” as the phrase was deemed too commonplace.

The first competitor in this year’s Home Run Derby is the red-hot Junior Caminero.

Aaron Judge is a “couple weeks” away from re-imaging on his fractured rib, putting him closer to the latter end of the original four-to-six week timeline.

Shohei Ohtani’s next start has been pushed back to Friday against the Padres, in an attempt to give him more rest between starts.

Brandon Nimmo will likely avoid the injured list after suffering an AC joint sprain.

Cam Schlittler gave up six earned runs in the worst start of his young career.

Jacob deGrom looked like his vintage self in a Rangers win over the Guardians.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

A Pod of Their released another episode.

Seth Ashby looked at where Carlos Mendoza ranks in Mets managerial history.

Steve Sypa put out the fourteenth edition of Mets Minor League Players of the Week.

Seth Ashby shared the Pitcher Meter for the last two weeks of Mets baseball.

In an often depressing and demoralizing Mets season, Brian Salvatore writes that Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have been a much needed bright spot.

This Date in Mets History

It’s a big day for Mets players hitting homers, with two milestone home runs on this date in the 80s alone.

Tuesday marked the fourth straight victory for the Dodgers on what has been a tremendous road trip, and it was an even more impactful game for manager Dave Roberts.

Now into his 11th season as Dodgers manager, Tuesday’s 9-3 victory over the Athletics marked the 1,000th win of Roberts’ managerial career, becoming the fastest manager to achieve that milestone in the live ball era and becoming the fourth manager in team history to accomplish that feat.

When asked about what it means to achieve 1,000 managerial wins, Robert described it as “mind-blowing,” per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

“I mean, 1,000 didn’t even seem on my radar,” Roberts said. “That’s a long time of consistent winning, let alone keeping a job for 11 years. That’s just kind of the life I chose. But yeah, to kind of put your head down and look back and go, ‘Oh my god, I’m here,’ it’s mind-blowing.”

Roberts later shared a speech in the clubhouse following Tuesday’s victory, where he expressed his gratitude for his players, both past and present, on helping him reach 1,000 wins.

“What makes a great coach or manager? Great players, and I’ve been blessed with great players.”

Justin Wrobleski started the game that would eventually become Roberts’ 1,000th win as Dodgers manager, as the left-hander struck out a career-high 11 hitters while becoming the first Dodger pitcher since Clayton Kershaw in 2023 to have 10 wins before the All-Star break.

Wrobleski felt honored to be the winning pitcher in Roberts’ milestone game, as he spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA about the impact Roberts has had on his career.

“I want to do that for Doc. He’s done a lot for me in my career. Getting the chance to be the winning pitcher in his 1,000th win is super cool… Can’t thank him enough for everything he’s done for me in my career and my development. I really wanted to get this done for him.”

Tommy Edman has been a contact machine since being activated off the injured list, as the switch hitter is slashing a robust .395/.452/.579 over his first 11 games of the season. Edman was a driving force in Tuesday’s win over the A’s, going 4-5 while connecting for his first home run of the season and driving in four runs.

Before Edman spoke with Watson about his brilliant day at the plate, he also showed his gratitude towards Dave Roberts acknowledged the privilege it is to play for the Dodgers with him at the helm.

“It really is an honor to just be a part of this team. It’s such a crazy accomplishment– 1,000 wins is just unbelievable if you really think about it. Couldn’t happen to a better guy. I’ve just loved every minute playing for him since I’ve gotten here. He’s so personable and makes it really easy to play for. He keeps things loose, and there’s a reason for why he’s won 1,000 games.”

Happy Wednesday, everyone, and a very happy Canada Day to any of my fellow Canucks out there! In today’s news breakdown, we’re still looking at the fallout from the big shakeup with the Angels ousting Perry Minasian and the Mets booting Carlos Mendoza.

We also take a look at what’s going on with Aaron Judge, and which AL players might now stand a chance to be the AL MVP because Judge has missed a good chunk of playing time.

Along with all that, we take a look at the unexpected boost baseball is getting with the influx of soccer fans all over Canada and the US, and how it’s creating a whole new fanbase for the sport.

All that and more, so let’s get right into it.

• Jay Jaffe looks at how Carlos Mendoza is paying the price for the Mets’ lacklustre season.
• Dan Szymborski explains what the new CBA offer would mean for free agency.
• What are the biggest needs at the trade deadline for all the playoff contenders? Story by Mark Feinsand.
• Nicholas Selbe looks at the six bad decisions that sunk Perry Minasian with the Angels.
• While we’re at it, Tom Verducci explains how Minasian made the Angels even worse.
• Ken Rosenthal talks to the Angels’ new interim manager on what comes next. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• A Tale of Two Max Muncys…

• Michael Baumann looks at the joyous experience that is international soccer fans discovering baseball.
• Cody Stavenhagen looks at whether MLB is actually getting an attendance bump thanks to soccer fans. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Sonja Chen reports that Shohei Ohtani’s next start has been bumped back to Friday.
• With Aaron Judge missing a good chunk of time due to injury, the AL MVP race is suddenly much more open to a new contender. Story by Tom Verducci.
• Zach Meisel looks at the long and dramatic saga of Josh Naylor that led to some heated interactions recently with the Guardians. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• You don’t often see an inside-the-park home run that is quite this messy.

• Jay Jaffe breaks down which teams have the best defense so far this season.
• Davy Andrews wonders how the Nationals manage to have such good hitting and such bad pitching.
• Having a superb season, Junior Caminero has announced his participation in the Home Run Derby. Story by Adam Berry.
• Ken Rosenthal explains that the Boston Red Sox being on track to potentially make the postseason is more of a statement about how bad the AL currently is. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Michael Rothstein shares that MLB has lost out in its efforts to trademark “Play Ball.”
• Bryan Hoch looks at the latest potential timeline for Aaron Judge to return.
• And it’s not even the most money one of his cards has sold for.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.