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After missing over a month with a shoulder sprain, Walker Jenkins is back in Triple-A and just one step away from the big leagues. He played four rehab games between Single-A and High-A, going 9-for-16 with a pair of homers. A couple days later, he faced off against reds rehabber Hunter Greene in his first at bat since returning to Triple-A and blasted a 99 mph fastball to the center field wall for a 108.7 mph triple. The Twins’ prized outfield prospect is looking MLB-ready and could be just weeks away from his major league debut.

In Walker Jenkins first AAA at bat since returning from the IL, he hit a 109 mph triple off a 99 mph Hunter Greene fastball.#MNTwins  pic.twitter.com/S9aImfunP5

— JD Cameron (@J_D_Cameron) June 23, 2026

His sweet lefty swing generates an impressive blend of contact and power. At just 21 years old, his 112.3 mph max EV and 90th percentile in the 107 range are well above average and give him a chance to develop plus power as he continues to mature. His plus hit tool has translated seamlessly throughout the minors, and it is only getting better. With strong contact rates and high line drive rates, he could push close to the .300 batting average mark in the majors, although that may drop if he leans into more of a power-focused approach. With strong discipline and good spin recognition, Jenkins has more walks than strikeouts in Triple-A this season. He is a complete hitter with no considerable weaknesses and is remarkably polished for his age.

It’s not just the bat, though. The Twins are getting an asset in every aspect of the game. Jenkins probably won’t be an aggressive base-stealer, but he is a good runner and can provide value on the bases. Defensively, he is a capable centerfielder, but with Buxton in the way, he will slot nicely into right field, where his plus arm and good range are expected to be reminiscent of what Max Kepler did out there for so many years.

The Twins are trotting out Austin Martin, Trevor Larnach, Kody Clemens, and Kyler Fedko in the corner outfield right now, all of whom have controllability beyond this season. At the same time, they have Emmanuel Rodriguez, Alan Roden, Matt Wallner, and Hendry Mendez waiting across the river along with Jenkins. This overcrowding issue in the outfield has been on the horizon for a couple years and the Twins have reached a position where they now have to deal with it. Something has to give. The consensus opinion is likely that Larnach or Clemens should be traded, but those two have been two of the Twins most consistently productive bats. Would the team be willing to trade one or two of the prospects for a big league pitcher?

There are countless potential outcomes, but if there is one certainty in this crossroads, its that Walker Jenkins is a franchise cornerstone, and a spot will undeniably be there for him when the team decides that its time for his major league career to begin.

I know that no one really wants to remember last year, but the trip to San Francisco was a bit of a fulcrum point. Or, maybe, not a fulcrum point, but the part where the Braves were flipped off the deep end by a lever atop a diabolically-positioned fulcrum. Or something.

Specifically, the 2025 Braves ended May at 27-30. Not good, but playoff odds were still at about 50 percent, given the roster, the expanded playoffs, yadda yadda yadda. When 85 wins can give you a playoff spot, winning seven more games than you lose over four months isn’t really that hard of a sell. They then lost four straight at home, including two one-run losses to the Diamondbacks — the latter of which involved giving up a seven-run ninth to turn an easy win into another disaster. Just like that, playoff odds went from 1-in-2 to 1-in-3, because, well, 27-34 is a lot harder to overcome than 27-30.

Then they got to San Francisco, and the bottom more or less dropped out. The Braves were swept, first with two consecutive walkoff losses, and then another one-run loss. Playoff odds were now down to 1-in-4. It was their fifth straight one-run loss; they wouldn’t have another one-run loss until the last game of June. Part of the kicker, too, was that after this visit to San Francisco, they went 11-8 for the rest of June — exactly the kind of improvement they’d have needed before the meaty part of the skid. But since that meaty part existed, it wasn’t near enough.

The Braves right now are… it’s not similar, but the vibes (which were near-immaculate for two months) are similarly doomer-ish. The Braves have lost 10 of 13, they’ve lost four in a row for the first time all season, they’ve been officially swept for the first time all season, and it goes on. The lineup is both injured enough to look like those random 2025 lineups with a bunch of warm bodies, but instead of the stories being about exciting resurgences from scrapheap pickups like Dominic Smith and Jorge Mateo, the only thing to really talk about is how nearly the entire team, including, say, Matt Olson, has gone from jumping all over hittable pitches to a revolting combination of staring at strikes, swinging at balls, and weak contact without any super-noticeable reduction in swing speed. Probably the biggest killer was rushing Drake Baldwin back because the Braves decided they couldn’t live with worse-than-a-pitcher offensive production from their fill-in catchers, only to have Baldwin hit like those catchers upon his return. Nothing has killed the team more than going from a best-in-class to a worst-in-class spot, and then keeping the worst-in-class stuff going even without Sandy Leon. Without the elite-ish hitting, the run prevention (or lack thereof) is more exposed, as the Braves have had to make tougher pitching management decisions while also taking the foot off the proverbial pedal in terms of actually orienting those decisions towards winning today’s game. Combine that with stuff like, “now is the perfect time to give Chris Sale more rest” and, yeah, it’s a mess.

But, this is about San Francisco and the Giants, who won two games (and had a third rained out) in Atlanta not long ago. The Giants aren’t good, and they followed their time in Atlanta by getting swept in Miami, though they have won their first two against the Athletics in a couple of very low-scoring games. If the Braves can’t recover here, it might just be that same early-June slide from 2025, just… much, much longer given how good April and May were.

On a related note, I’m of two minds about the press discussion (or lack thereof) regarding the team. Early on, before we knew what was going to happen, a lot of staffers and players were giving sound bites about how Walt Weiss differed from Brian Snitker because he was more vocal, animated, and willing to put himself in opposition to players to get a specific reaction. In other words, they were suggesting that he’d get steamed when things weren’t going his way. Of course, that was basically irrelevant for two months when everything was going his way… but we’ve heard nothing about any sort of steaming or internal boot-to-butt antics.

On the flip side, though, it may be disingenuous to expect any management impetus when the players could (but probably wouldn’t? probably?) point to management decisions as a contributing factor to the disharmony. I don’t think any players would come out and say it, but they’re as aware of the load management and the pushing Sale back as anyone. So, who knows — maybe we aren’t hearing anything about Weiss metaphorically spear-tackling his guys because really everyone needs a spear-tackle. But that’s really a side note.

Anyway, hope the things get better soon, but given that the Braves don’t seem very committed to making them better, we’ll see whether San Francisco is more of the same or a turnaround that is best described as fortuitous rather than some other adjective, because I’m not sure there’s much of a middle ground.

Amid the flaming trainwreck that is the 2026 Red Sox season, there’s this very odd side note to consider. Specially, the Red Sox actually had a pretty solid offseason.

Now, “pretty solid offseason” is intentionally vague and highly subjective, but work with me here. As we approach the season’s halfway point, it’s worth exploring the moves the club did make last winter, and how much more maddening they makes everything that’s manifesting now.

Below is a list of the eight transactions I deem to be the most significant of the past offseason. For this exercise, I’m not interested in things like the Vaughn Grissom trade or signing Danny Coulombe and Tommy Kahnle for peanuts in the bullpen. I’m trying to stick to the headliners that have moderate to major impacts on the big picture. If you disagree with the list, feel free to let me know in the comments and we can hash it out there.

So without further ado, here we go in chronological order:

1)November 25, 2025: Traded Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts to the St. Louis Cardinals for Sonny Gray and cash.

Right out of the gate, this one looks like a win. Going into the winter, one of the biggest items on the Red Sox shopping list was a No. 2 starter after they had to go with Brayan Bello in Game 2 of the Wild Card series last year against the Yankees. Amazingly, it looks like they got one before Thanksgiving.

Gray is sitting at 9-1 and nearly a third of all Red Sox victories this year have come in his starts. The money gets complicated, and will continue to get more complicated if he is moved in the next six weeks, but I don’t think there are any Sox fans who would take back this trade.

2) December 4, 2025: Traded Jesus Travieso and Jhostynxon Garcia to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Adonys Guzman, Johan Oviedo and Tyler Samaniego.

This looks like a mostly nothing deal right now and you could even argue it doesn’t belong on the list. Jhostynxon Garcia hasn’t found success in Pittsburgh and Johan Oviedo has spent almost the entire year on the IL. For now it’s a neutral, nothing deal, but I’d have to imagine we’re going to see a decent amount of Oviedo in the second half, so I thought it deserves mention as a deal that could become relevant in the coming months.

3) December 15, 2025: Traded Luis Perales to the Washington Nationals for Jake Bennett.

Another deal for the nerds but, so far, this one is going quite well for Breslow and the Red Sox. Jake Bennett fits the big lefty, long extension mold they covet, and he’s starting to settle into the back of the rotation after also posting a 1.60 ERA in nine starts with Worcester.

Perales still has a high ceiling, but has shown no signs of getting closer to reaching it yet in 2026. Long way to go here, but so far this is looking like another positive move.

4) December 22, 2025: Traded Blake Aita, Yhoiker Fajardo and Hunter Dobbins to the St. Louis Cardinals for Willson Contreras.

The craziest thing about the Willson Contreras acquisition is how much he’s exactly what the Red Sox needed on paper, and yet it hasn’t made a lick of difference in their record. He’s right handed, he mashes, he’s having the best season of his career slugging wise, he’s filled the hole at first base, he plays above average defense, he brings a veteran presence in the clubhouse, and he takes a good at bat in high leverage spots. How has this not mattered more?

In any case, the Red Sox desperately needed a big right handed bat, and Craig Breslow managed to get one at an extremely affordable price. Contreras has an .896 OPS, which is just 30 points off the highest OPS of any right handed bat in baseball thanks to the top seven guys all being left handed and some pretty interesting evidence starting to pile up that ABS is helping the lefties (each of the top seven OPS figures in the sport right now bat left handed).

Bottom line: This was a fantastic trade!

5) January 9, 2026: Signed Tyron Guerrero as a free agent.

A total reclamation project that’s blossoming before our eyes. The goods news is he’s throwing triple digit gas for the strikes. The bad news is he’s 35 and the prudent thing to do is likely move him for future value before the deadline. Still, this looks like another win for Breslow.

6) Mid January, 2026: Lost out on the bidding war for Alex Bregman to the Cubs and immediately pivoted to sign Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130 million deal.

Here’s the key moment of the entire offseason. Through some combination of misreading the market, not locking Alex Bregman up earlier, and just genuinely poor communication skills, the Red Sox didn’t land their man. This led to a pivot to spend the money that was going to go to Bregman on Ranger Suarez because at that point in the offseason, there wasn’t much else left on the shelves.

On one hand, Suarez has been another excellent addition, and there’s a good chance we’re going to look back on this move extremely favorably by the time his five year contract is over. However, this also left the Red Sox with a surplus of starting pitchers and a gigantic hole at third base, which leads us to this:

7) February 9, 2026: Traded Shane Drohan, David Hamilton and Kyle Harrison to the Milwaukee Brewers for Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler.

Undoubtedly, this is the most bitter transaction of the winter. Craig Breslow moved on from a young, cost controlled left handed starter who has been outstanding for the Brewers for a third baseman who just started hitting this month. Losing Harrison hasn’t hurt the 2026 Red Sox all that much as their issue isn’t in the starting rotation, and you can kind of see how Durbin was supposed to fit into the puzzle with his defense, but there’s no way to classify this other than a huge loss at this stage.

They better hope Durbin keeps hitting!

8) February 10, 2026: Signed Isiah Kiner-Falefa as a free agent to a one year, $6 million deal.

It’s certainly not a move I would have made (they needed to shoot higher), but at that price and with this team’s holes, he’s been fine as a utility man. If he comes off the IL quickly, the front office will probably be able to get a lottery ticket return for him at the deadline.

Adding all that up, again I say, “pretty solid offseason.” The biggest issues here are the moves he didn’t make. Breslow didn’t move Jarren Duran for 80 cents on the dollar to clear the outfield logjam. He didn’t move on from Brayan Bello when the had the surplus of pitching following the Ranger Suarez signing, and he didn’t go aggressively enough after another right handed bat. (Although to be fair, the right handed bats available have proved incredibly underwhelming. Even if you wanted Pete Alonso at first base, that means no Willson Contreras.)

Still, despite those warts, it’s feels borderline impossible the Red Sox are having the season they’re having in 2026 with that offseason coming off 89 wins in 2025. Then again, if you watch them play every night, you know the real issue here is they just don’t know how to play baseball as a collective unit. They don’t come back in games, they don’t pick each other up, they don’t take good situational at bats, they’re downright dreadful in clutch situations, and despite being well above average overall defensively, they manage to make their errors at the most inopportune times and almost never make a highlight reel play to save a game.

Long-term, this characteristic is a complete disaster and enormous changes are needed throughout the organization since being able to play baseball as a cohesive unit is kind of the whole point of the sport. However, when it comes to just the 2026 trade deadline, that doesn’t really matter. Unlike in the offseason where piling up value on a roster where the pieces don’t fit will absolutely come back to bite you in the caboose, it’s pretty much the name of the game if you’re a seller at the trade deadline.

You can be picky, you can drive the price up, and you can wait out for offers that will make your counterpart squirm because you have all the leverage. This is exactly the type of negotiation Craig Breslow is made for. So instead of swapping everything else out in the next few weeks and letting somebody new handle this on the fly, isn’t it better to let Breslow have the deadline and then radically alter the organizational philosophy after August 3rd?

Again, take a look at the offseason he had. Breslow is good at collecting value. Despite the unmitigated disaster this club has been on the field in 2026, he’s probably still the best man for this job for at least six more weeks.

Beyond that though, it’s going to take a much bigger reclamation project to fix the issues that permeate deep inside the organization. While sellers at the deadline play a game on paper, the rest of the league, as this front office has learned the hard way, does not.

For Hickory, Michael Trausch struck out one in a scoreless inning. Louis Marinaro struck out both batters he faced.

Marcos Torres was 3 for 4 with a homer and two stolen bases. Yolfran Castillo was 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base. Marco Argudin doubled and walked. Paulino Santana had a hit. Angel Arredondo had a hit and a walk.

Hickory box score

Hub City starter J’Briell Easley allowed four runs in 1.1 IP, striking out two and walking two. Owen Proksch struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings. Brock Porter struck out five and walked three in 2.1 IP, allowing one run. Case Matter struck out two and walked three in an inning, allowing two runs.

Hector Osorio had a hit and a walk. Maxton Martin went 2 for 4. Gleider Figuereo, Chandler Pollard and Eduardo Mejia each had a hit.

Hub City box score

For Frisco, Bryan Magdaleno struck out four in two shutout innings.

Malcolm Moore was 2 for 4 with a homer. Keith Jones II was 2 for 3 with a double, two walks and a stolen base. Rafe Perich drew a pair of walks.

Frisco box score

Spencer Adams started for Round Rock. He was a second round pick of the Chicago White Sox in 2014 who, it appears, last pitched in affiliated ball in 2019. He didn’t pitch at all after 2019 until 2025, when he spent the season with Gary in the independent American Association. He was pitching for Gastonia in the Atlanta League before the Rangers apparently signed him so he could provide a body for Round Rock’s pitching staff.

Adams allowed six runs in 5.2 IP, including three homers, walking one and striking out two. Michel Otanez allowed five runs in 0.2 IP, striking out one and walking three. Ryan Lobus faced two batters, giving up a hit and retiring the other guy.

Cam Cauley homered. Aaron Zavala had a hit.

Round Rock box score

The Mets conclude the four-game series with the Chicago Cubs with a nightcap on Thursday at Citi Field at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

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Mets Notes

• Francisco Alvarez, who homered in both games of Wednesday's doubleheader, is 7-for-22 (.318) in his last six games with a 1.075 OPS
• Bo Bichette, who homered in Game 2, has been swinging a hot bat: 21-for-58 (.362) with nine extra-base hits, 13 RBI, and a 1.067 OPS in his last 14 games
• Freddy Peralta looks to bounce back from a rough outing in Philadelphia, when he allowed 10 runs on 10 hits in 2.2 innings
• Chicago is sending out left-hander Matthew Boyd, who carries a 6.00 ERA over his first 24 innings of the campaign, but the veteran is coming off his best outing: two runs on four hits over six innings against Arizona

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Today's Lineups

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Last year, the Yankees and Red Sox met in an AL Wild Card Series that seemed like it could easily go either way. Of course, it went to a decisive Game 3, where Cam Schlittler delivered a monster outing, and the teams have gone in opposite directions since.

This year, the Yankees — while you can have your qualms about their play and the roster construction — are again a contender and enter this weekend with the best record in the American League. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have fallen way off the pace and are last in both the division and the AL as a whole, recently crashing past the Angels. Interim skipper Chad Tracy’s club is still missing big-name players like Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony, and their offense has been appallingly anemic. Entering play yesterday, only the underachieving Padres had a worse hitting corps by wRC+ (86 to Boston’s 89), and the Red Sox were also second-worst by total homers (65 in 77 games).

However, the two teams are now set to meet this weekend at Fenway Park. While the “throw out the record books when rivals meet” is too much of a cliché, we’ve seen the Yankees put in some iffy performances of late and the Red Sox still do have talent. With four games coming over the next couple days, let’s take a look at the probable pitching matchups for this series.

Thursday: Cam Schlittler vs. Connelly Early (7:10 pm ET)

The opening game of the series will be a rematch of Game 3 of the Wild Card Series last year. Schlittler began June with his first genuinely not-great start of the season, and has since responded by looking like his normal dominant self. He’s allowed just two earned runs combined over his last three outing, and struck out 13 batters during his last time out against the Reds. That’s a career best for him, besting even the aforementioned Wild Card Series Game 3.

Early was somewhat famously the man opposite Schlittler last year, as he was also notably a rookie getting a start in that massive game. His overall numbers in 2026 grade out as either side of average, depending on what stat you’re looking at. He has been hit by the home run bug a bit this year, having given up 14 in 15 starts, so that’ll be something the Yankees will hope they can take advantage of.

Friday: Will Warren vs. Payton Tolle (7:10 pm ET)

Warren’s numbers for the season are absolutely ones that you’ll take from a back-end starter; however, he often looks like he has the raw stuff to be even better than that. However, he just has too many starts like the last two, where he’s given up a total of 16 hits, even if he’s only been dinged for four earned runs in that time.

The Yankees have only gotten one previous look at the second-year Tolle, and it didn’t go well. Back in April, he struck out 11 batters while holding the Yankees to just one run on three hits. That being said, after a very good start — even beyond that outing — to his sophomore campaign, Tolle has struggled a bit recently. His ERA is 5.29 over his last three games, with his overall season mark going up nearly an entire run in the process.

Saturday: Gerrit Cole vs. Jake Bennett (1:10 pm ET)

Following a brilliant initial return from Tommy John surgery, Cole has looked a bit pedestrian of late. Returning from an injury that knocks you out for a full year is always going to produce some up-and-down results, but you’d like to see Cole fare better than the 5.95 ERA he’s produced over his last four appearances.

The Red Sox will be going with yet another youngster on Saturday, and this will be the Yankees’ first ever meeting with the rookie Bennett. He’s been decent so far in his career, and his coming off his best-ever major-league performance. Earlier this week against the Rockies, he shut out Colorado over six innings, allowing four hits, while striking out nine.

Sunday: Carlos Rodón vs. Sonny Gray (7:20 pm ET)

A 114 ERA+ with a FIP that suggests he could be a bit better is absolutely something worth taking from Rodón, especially considering that he’s probably the Yankees No. 4 when everyone is healthy. However, especially with his walks, he can often be a chore to watch. The Red Sox are one of the teams that walk the least in all of MLB, so theoretically, this is a chance to put in a good effort on that front.

The veteran and former Yankee Gray has been a bright spot for the Red Sox this year, with a 2.95 ERA over his 14 starts so far (and might already be on the trade block due to Boston’s spiral). One of those came against the Yankees back at the start of the month, where he and the Red Sox got the win. That wasn’t his best effort of the season, but he did manage to frustrate the Yankees enough for them to get just three runs despite eight hits.

Meet the Mets

Well it was unsurpringly ugly yet again at Citi Field. The Mets gave up 20 runs in the doubleheader while scoring eight to get swept in the two games by the Cubs. The pitching was awful, the defense was atrocious, and the offense left a bit to be desired, but hey at least the Norwegians had fun.

Choose your recap Game 1: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, Newsday, NY Post

Game 2:Amazin’ Avenue, Athletic, Daily News, MLB.com, NY Post

In what could be the start of a fire sale, the Mets traded David Peterson to the Cubs in exchange for prospect Cole Mathis.

About the only people having fun in the stadium, besides the Cubs, were the Norwegian World Cup fans who took in a baseball game while they are in town.

Nolan McLean looked like he actually might help the team win a ballgame but instead it all fell apart quickly, and it turned it yet another ugly loss in game one.

Keith Hernandez lamented the Pete Crow-Armstrong trade after watching him score against the Mets.

Before game two of the doubleheader, the team activated Francisco Lindor from the IL and designated Zack Short for assignment.

With his latest struggles, Carlos Mendoza announced that Kodai Senga will be moving to the bullpen for the foreseeable future.

Tyrone Taylor continued his rehab assignment in Triple-A as he works his way back from a hip flexor strain.

Around the National League East

The Braves were swept by the Padres with a 5-2 loss in the series finale.

Reynaldo López is returning to the Atlanta rotation after finding some success in the bullpen.

Eury Pérez outdueled Jacob deGrom in the Marlins’ 4-2 win over the Rangers.

The Phillies topped the Nationals by a score of 5-4.

Before their game against Philadelphia, Washington claimed reliever Justin Lawrence off waivers from the Twins.

Around Major League Baseball

The Cardinals promoted Bill DeWitt III to chief executive officer after serving as the team’s president since 2008.

The Giants’ Pride Night cap controversy is forcing MLB to decide whether they truly want to be inclusive to everyone.

The Red Sox will likely be sellers at the deadline and they have a few players who could be on the move as the trade deadline approaches.

Left-handed hitting is on the rise around the league and it might stem from the new ABS challenge system.

Mookie Betts slugged his 300th career home run against the Twins.

This Date in Mets History

Happy Birthday Carlos Delgado!

Late Wednesday night, after a six-error game capped the most demoralizing day of a remarkably demoralizing season, the Mets… well, finally did something.

They traded struggling left-handed starter David Peterson to the Chicago Cubs, who spent the day beating up on them despite a rotation held together by a thread, in exchange for infield prospect Cole Mathis. Mathis, 22, has a .981 OPS across two Single-A levels this year.

Trading Peterson should not be read as a sign of surrender, nor an indication that the Mets are now in full sell-off mode, according to a person with direct knowledge of their thinking. They needed to try something different in their rotation, though exactly what that will look like remains unclear. And they liked Mathis, the 13th ranked prospect in the Cubs’ system, according to MLB Pipeline, one Chicago was willing to give up after a stunning series of injuries decimated their rotation in recent weeks. 

In other words, the Mets saw a chance to get value out of an asset they were struggling to revive. So they did it.

But if not a sign of surrender, the move does represent the first drastic, permanent change David Stearns and the Mets have made to their roster since the start of this season. Prior to Wednesday, their most substantial shake-up came when they called up outfielder A.J. Ewing in mid-May and decided to play him every day. Other than that, Stearns and his front office have been almost unfathomably patient with their major league roster -- particularly Peterson and his fellow struggling colleagues KodaiSenga and Sean Manaea.

Manaea looked like he had figured something out until he struggled again Wednesday. Senga will move to the bullpen in a last-ditch effort to extract value from a once-promising arm, a generous outcome for a veteran whom the Mets have given chance after chance out of necessity and lack of options.

Peterson’s last outing was yet another maddening combination of ground balls that did not help him, too many walks, and back-breaking home runs. The Cubs have the best defense in baseball, which might help him. Maybe all he needs is a fresh start. The lefty was the Mets’ longest-tenured player after Stearns purged veterans this winter. For whatever reason, Peterson simply could not recover his All-Star form with them this year.

His departure, combined with Senga’s move to the bullpen, leaves two holes in the Mets' rotation. Righty Christian Scott is expected to fill one of them when he returns from the injured list this weekend, joining Manaea, FreddyPeralta, and Nolan McLean in the starting corps.

Potential minor league reinforcements could include Jonah Tong, who is struggling to add to his pitch mix in Triple-A, Zach Thornton, who allowed five runs in four innings in his last outing, and Jack Wenninger, whose walk rates have deterred the Mets from calling him up sooner, even as his ERA and strikeout numbers look promising this year. Tobias Myers has returned to his bulk role in the big leagues, but he has been inconsistent recently, too. 

Perhaps the Mets will look outside the organization for reinforcement, though, as Stearns said when he addressed the media Tuesday, it is not always easy to find players via trade this time of year.

Even so, the Cubs found a much-needed starter late Wednesday night. Maybe the Mets can find one, too.

After a rare blown save by closer Cade Smith, the Guardians somehow rallied back and beat the White Sox 4-3 in extras. Kahlil Watson is establishing himself fast now that he has his first pitch and home run under his belt. His single in the top of the tenth solidified the victory for Cleveland.

Quincy takes a look at Kody Huff and the potential for the catcher-turned-infielder to make an impact on the Cleveland squad.

MLB rightfully names Braylon Doughty as the hottest pitching prospect in the Cleveland organization. Readers of Covering the Corner know his name well, having voted him Cleveland’s No. 6 overall prospect in this past off season’s series.

A familiar name is making an impact in early Cy Young voting. Rookie pitching phenom Parker Messick has caught the attention of the “Panel of MLB Experts.”

Cam Schlittler leads the most recent AL Cy Young poll 💪 pic.twitter.com/KR4jrwa2G5

— MLB (@MLB) June 24, 2026

Andrew Walters has been shut down due to elbow inflammation, though all reports indicate that his MRI came back clean.

Guardians shut down Walters b/c of inflammation. He underwent an MRI that came back clean. IL stint allows him to build back up when ready. Hasn't pitched since June 10. https://t.co/Z3rh9izTDe

— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) June 24, 2026

A familiar, and very much missed, face is still gracing the leaderboards. Despite having not played for almost two weeks, José Ramírez is still leading all qualified MLB third baseman in outs above average with his teammate Daniel Schneemann holding down #3.

Outs Above Average Leaders – Third Baseman pic.twitter.com/V06f7pxpHz

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) June 24, 2026

The Colorado Rockies are known for playing their home games in the most notoriously hitter-friendly environment in Major League Baseball, Coors Field. Despite the introduction of the humidor in 2002 reducing the number of home runs hit there, Coors Field has sat atop park factors leaderboards since its opening in 1995.

What’s more, in their first few games back at sea level after having played in Denver, hitters are known to suffer from a reduction in offensive performance, colloquially known as the “Coors Field Hangover.” This can largely be attributed to the flight path of the ball leaving a pitcher’s hand behaving differently in the two environments, and the human brain needing repetitions to adjust its expectations. This has long been the bane of Rockies hitters who have generally performed much better at home than they have on the road.

This season, however, the Rockies are doing something they have never done before in the entire history of the franchise: Scoring just as many runs on the road as they do at home.

• In 40 home games, the Rockies have scored 181 runs.
• In 41 away games, they’ve scored 187 runs.

In every previous season of their existence, the Colorado Rockies scored many more runs at home than on the road. They have never come particularly close to breaking even. In 2009, the Rockies scored 75 more runs at home than they did on the road, which is the only non-shortened season where that number was less than 95.

Let’s put this another way.

The only season in Rockies history that they scored less than a full run more per game at home versus away was the aforementioned 2009. That year, they managed a measly 0.93 more runs per game at home.

Halfway through the 2026 season, the Rockies are scoring 0.01 fewer runs per game at home than they are on the road. That’s essentially dead even.

The Rockies are scoring the third most road runs per game but, it hasn’t come with the expected relationship to runs at hitter-friendly Coors Field. What’s accounting for this difference is a bit hard to pin down. On the surface, Rockies hitters appear to still be producing better at home with a triple slash of .265/.334/.423 compared to .242/.313/.398 on the road.

The shape of that production, however, is composed differently. At Coors the Rockies are hitting more doubles and triples but significantly fewer home runs (39) than they are when on the road (47). Unlike overall runs scored, this road homer dominance is not entirely unprecedented since the 2006 Rockies ended the season with seven more homers on the road than they had at home.

No hitter has contributed more to these strange splits than Hunter Goodman. Coming into Wednesday’s game Goodman had hit .198/.279/.405 at Coors compared to .282/.340/.604 elsewhere, good for a 96 point swing in his wRC+ between the two. Among the teams other regulars, both TJ Rumfield and Troy Johnston are also hitting a bit better on the road, but no one comes close to matching Goodman’s splits.

Conclusions

Ultimately, what folks will want to know is why has this happened so far and is it likely continue? Sadly, the best answers to those questions I’ve been able to come up with are an unconvincing “luck” and a non-committal “probably not.”

It’s not as if Coors Field has suddenly turned into a pitcher’s park. The Rockies are still allowing more runs at home (6.07) than they are on the road (5.27). Taking a look at Baseball Savant’s Park Factors leaderboards for specifically 2026 shows that Coors Field has been slightly overtaken by the Athletics Sutter Health Park, but it is still near enough to the top that the sample size of a half season isn’t enough to draw real conclusions from.

Part of the answer can be attributed to the Rockies having gotten the opportunity to play three away games in the open air minor league Las Vegas Ballpark. If we removed all three of the Las Vegas games, the Rockies road scoring would no longer slightly outpace their home scoring, but it would still be by far the smallest gap in franchise history at only 0.471 more runs per game scored at home.

At the time of writing this, I have not found a convincing answer as to what, if anything, has changed to cause this shift. Unless Warren Schaeffer reveals some heretofore unknown road batting preparation method new to 2026, changes to the way the ball is moving are discovered, or (knock on wood) some new gambling scandal is uncovered, all previous precedent indicates that these home/road splits will not continue into the second half.

If they do, this will almost certainly go down as the most abnormal offensive season in Rockies history.

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On the Farm

Triple-A:Salt Lake Bees 9, Albuquerque Isotopes 1

In a reversal of the first game of the series on Tuesday, the Bees (LAA) walloped the Isotopes.

What began as a close one run game for the first six innings descended into a blowout with a seven run implosion during Luke Adams’ second inning of work in the sixth. That poor outing overshadowed four shutout innings from Tanner Gordon in his first rehab start since being sidelined with a hip injury at the end of May.

While the Isotopes lineup wasn’t able to get across many runs in the end they did manage to work the count quite a bit against the Bee’s pitching staff. Each of Adael Amador and Sterlin Thompson (No. 13 PuRP) earned two walks and Jordan Beck (on a rehab assignment) drew another three. The problem was a lack of contact as the entire order only managed four singles while doubling that number of strikeouts.

Double-A:Portland Sea Dogs 10, Hartford Yard Goats 4

A second rough outing in a row from Jackson Cox (No. 16 PuRP) let the Sea Dogs (BOS) jump out to a lead in the fourth inning that the Yard Goats were never able to come back from.

Cox, in his third start at Double-A, struck out five over his first three scoreless innings. In the fourth he hit the first batter he faced, walked the next, tossed a wild pitch to let the runners advance, and then proceeded to allow four hits and another walk before being pulled having only recorded a single out in the inning. Cox would be followed up by Cade Denton and Michael Prosecky (No. 25 PuRP) combining for three and a third innings of five-run ball. Eventually Carlos Torres would come in to finish out the final two and a third innings without allowing a run but enough damage had already been done by that point.

At the plate Andy Perez, Dyan Jorge, and GJ Hill collected two hits apiece. Otherwise the most notable performance was from the catcher, Bryant Betancourt, who reached base three times including on a single that drove in Roc Riggio (No. 14 PuRP) in the fifth.

High-A:Spokane Indians 11, Tri-City Dust Devils 9

A back and forth affair where both Spokane and the Dust Devils (LAA) would not stop answering lead changes with runs of their own.

It took Spokane five pitchers to make it through the full nine innings and the only one who had a scoreless outing was Justin Loer who tossed a single frame. Yujanyer Herrera (No. 22 PuRP) started off the game going three innings and allowing four runs (3 earned) with four strikeouts but did so on 64 pitches and was pulled before facing a batter in the fourth.

The Spokane bats, however, were a different story. The lineup combined for ten hits and nine walks which was enough to mean they did not have to come back out for the bottom of the ninth. Jack O’Dowd continued to do nothing but impress in High-A by reaching base three times and coming around to score twice. Robert Calaz (No. 6 PuRP) and Tevin Tucker both drew three walk. Unlike every other level of the farm system on Wednesday, the Indians were able to capitalize on all those baserunners thanks to home runs from each of Tommy Hopfe, Ethan Hedges (No. 29 PuRP), and Kelvin Hidalgo.

Low-A:Lake Elsinore Storm 4, Fresno Grizzlies 2

While the Grizzlies scored the first and final runs of the game they were unable to keep pace with the Storm (SDP) in the interim.

On the mound Luke Hansel and Bryson Van Sickle combined with nearly identical lines to pitch the full game for Fresno. They each went four innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits while striking out four. The only real difference between the two performances was efficiency as Van Sickle finished his four innings with thirteen fewer pitches than Hansel.

The Grizzlies lineup had a fair share of baserunners, scattering nine hits and three walks almost evenly throughout the order. They failed, however, to provide much in the way of thump to drive those runners in. Tanner Thach’s double to lead of the second inning was the only extra base hit of the night for Fresno.

DSL:DSL Marlins 10, DSL Rockies 0

A forgettable day for the DSL Rockies who allowed at least one run in every inning other than the fourth and had committed three errors by the third. The best pitching performance belongs to Francisco Perez who took over in the third and threw three innings while only allowing two runs, one earned, on just two hits.

At the plate the DSL Rockies were able to work six walks, but failed to drive any of those baserunners in. The only player with multiple hits was Hector Barroso who was three for three, including a double, with a walk. All told, a game to take some lessons from and move on.

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From Florida Floors to Coors Field: The Decade-Long Journey of Jimmy Herget and Brennan Bernardino | Blake Street Banter

A really lovely little piece from Eli Whitney chronicling Jimmy Herget and Brennan Bernadino’s paths to Colorado. The two started in the Reds minor league system together where they were roomates for a while and have apparently kept in touch since. A quick and free read that is incredibly wholesome. My personal favorite quote from Bernadino in the piece: ​“I’m just trying to be the left-handed Jimmy”.

The Pain of Trading a Unicorn | Baseball Prospectus ($)

Just as Renee Dechart did for Purple Row last week, Mario Delgado Genzor dissects whether it would be the right move for the organization to entertain trading Hunter Goodman. The piece leaves no stone unturned in it’s dissection of the topic ranging from what type of player Goodman has been, the Rockies history of poor catchers, the state of the organization as a whole, and what other catchers would be available to buyers at the deadline. A wonderfully thorough piece that is worth every Rockies fan reading while we await the flurry of moves coming at the end of July.

Rockies All-Star Hunter Goodman sees ‘a lot better vibe’ as club nears halfway point of 2026 season | The Denver Post ($)

Patrick Saunders talks with Hunter Goodman about the changes he’s seen in the big league club since his callup in 2023. Goodman, and Warren Schaeffer, detail how the tone has shifted from one where people “were just happy to be here” to where “Now, it feels like we can beat anybody, any night.”. The piece gives a real sense of how Goodman has been integral to the step forward the club has made this year.

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