Who’s QB1? Breaking down the biggest battles at the game’s most important position
Last year at this time, it was easy for Nick Saban, Ryan Day and Kirby Smart.
Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Georgia’s Stetson Bennett were coming off monster seasons that included a Heisman for Young and a national title for Bennett.
No QB controversies to be found for the top three teams in the 2022 preseason AP poll.
Now all three programs are entering the unknown.
What’s the latest with the Crimson Tide after bringing in Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner? Is there any clarity for the Buckeyes or Bulldogs? And what about crowded rooms at Texas, Ole Miss and beyond?
We break down the eight most important quarterback battles to see where things stand following spring practice.
QB contenders: Tyler Buchner, Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson
Post-spring Week 1 favorite: Tyler Buchner
How the spring affected the race: The fact Alabama brought in Buchner from Notre Dame less than a week after the A-Day spring game tells you the Crimson Tide weren’t content with what they saw from their quarterbacks during spring practice. Now, that doesn’t mean they’re ready to give up on Milroe or Simpson. It just means they wanted another option as they point toward the start of preseason practice in August. Milroe is a dynamic athlete who can give defenses fits running the ball when the play breaks down. His challenge remains cutting down on his turnovers and overall consistency throwing the ball. Simpson also is plenty talented and might end up being the guy, but he just didn’t look ready to lead a football team this spring. So when Buchner hit the transfer portal, given his ties to his former coach at Notre Dame and first-year Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, the Crimson Tide didn’t hesitate to scoop him up and reunite him with Rees.
Long-term outlook: It’s difficult to believe Buchner would come to Alabama to be a backup. He has three years of eligibility remaining and began last season as the Notre Dame starter before injuring his shoulder in Week 2 and having surgery. He returned for the bowl game and accounted for five touchdowns in a Notre Dame win. Alabama offered Buchner when he was in high school, but he opted for Notre Dame. It says a lot about both Milroe and Simpson and their belief in themselves that they didn’t transfer after Buchner came aboard. Milroe and Simpson, who have combined for 65 college passing attempts, are determined to stay and fight for the starting job. Alabama also has two more scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, freshmen Dylan Lonergan and Eli Holstein. We know this about Nick Saban: He’s going to play the best guy and the guy who wins over the locker room. Buchner’s stats at Notre Dame weren’t eye-popping, but clearly Rees thinks he’s an upgrade over what the Alabama coaches saw this spring. We’re going to find out. — Chris Low
QB contenders: Graham Mertz, Jack Miller III
Post-spring Week 1 favorite: Graham Mertz
How the spring affected the race: It is probably fair to say the spring did not really affect the race much, as Mertz and Miller remain in a quarterback competition headed into fall practice. While we list Mertz as the favorite, based on his experience as a starter at Wisconsin, there is still plenty of work to be done for him to win the job. Especially after neither quarterback impressed in what was the lowest-scoring spring game in Florida history, with 17 total points scored. Mertz went 18-for-29 for 244 yards and a touchdown, while Miller was 10-for-20 for 144 yards and a touchdown as both took turns with the first-team offense. Coach Billy Napier has also said the team will be active in the transfer portal to find another quarterback, so this competition might not even look the same come August.
Long-term outlook: There is no question losing five-star prospect Jaden Rashada, who left after an NIL deal reportedly fell through, has hampered the plan at quarterback. Rashada was supposed to be the future at the position, after Anthony Richardson left school to enter the NFL draft. His signing was hailed as a huge victory for Napier, until it became somewhat of an embarrassment. Now the long-term outlook must be adjusted. The Gators do not have much depth between Mertz, Miller and redshirt freshman Max Brown, which only puts more pressure on the staff to find somebody currently in the portal. Mertz has started 32 games but was never meant to be the long-term answer when he signed; Miller did not play well in the Las Vegas Bowl, and Brown threw only four passes in the spring game. If there is any good news, it’s that Florida already has a huge commitment from five-star QB D.J. Lagway in the class of 2024. Now the Gators just have to hold on to him. — Andrea Adelson
QB contenders: Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff
Post-spring Week 1 favorite: Carson Beck
How the spring affected the race: Not much, if at all. Kirby Smart talked about Georgia’s ability to give their quarterbacks more reps than anyone in the country, because they almost always have a third unit and sometimes even a fourth. Beck is the quarterback with the most reps given he has been around the longest, and after an impressive performance in the spring game, he looked the part. Smart said, “I was really pleased with all three quarterbacks and what you saw today was some of what we’ve seen all spring. We have three good quarterbacks who can make the throws and do a really good job. I was pleased with those guys.” It should be noted Smart also went out of his way to mention Vandagriff had some passes that were dropped.
Long-term outlook: It’s safe to say Beck is going to be the first to get a shot as the starting quarterback. However, if he were to struggle, Georgia’s schedule allows the Bulldogs to experiment and figure out who really is the best fit for the offense. Georgia’s first four games are at home, against UT-Martin, Ball State, South Carolina and UAB. Smart hasn’t been afraid to switch things up at quarterback when they haven’t worked in the past, so I don’t think people should expect this season to be any different, especially with Georgia feeling like they can get a third consecutive title. — Harry Lyles Jr.
QB contenders: Kyle McCord, Devin Brown
Post-spring Week 1 favorite: Kyle McCord
How the spring affected the race: Both quarterbacks shared first-team reps, but there wasn’t enough separation to name a starter. Brown missed the spring game after undergoing a procedure on a finger on his throwing hand. In his absence, McCord had a rather pedestrian performance, completing 18-of-34 passes for 184 yards and one touchdown. Some of that was a product of a limited wide receivers group and inconsistent offensive line. It’s McCord’s third season in the offense, and he has an edge in experience. Coach Ryan Day told ESPN this spring that McCord “understands how defenses are trying to attack them,” has changed his body this offseason and has a strong, accurate arm. Day said while Brown hasn’t had as much time in the offense, he has learned quickly. “I’ve been very impressed with the amount of information he’s been able to process in a short period of time,” Day said. “Very good athlete, can move and change direction very well.”
Long-term outlook: Ohio State had a hole to fill after Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 class, decommitted in December, but last month the Buckeyes lured in quarterback Air Noland for the 2024 season. Noland, a 6-foot-3 pocket passer from Fairburn, Georgia, had interest from Alabama, Arkansas, Clemson, Miami, Oregon and Texas A&M. As a junior, Noland had 4,095 yards passing with 55 touchdowns to four interceptions. He also rushed for 156 yards and five touchdowns. Ohio State also has three-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, who flipped from Washington and committed in 2023. — Heather Dinich
QB contenders: Jaxson Dart, Spencer Sanders, Walker Howard
Post-spring Week 1 favorite: Jaxson Dart
How the spring affected the race: The Ole Miss coaches couldn’t have been happier with Dart and the way he performed this spring. In some ways, bringing in Sanders and Howard might have lit a fire under him, as he clearly took it to the next level with his decision-making and consistency in leading the offense on scoring drives. Dart, who started 12 of 13 games last season after transferring from USC, had only one turnover all spring. Sanders was limited by a shoulder injury but made up ground as he became healthier. He saved his best for last and was the Rebels’ most impressive quarterback in the spring game. Sanders, who accounted for 85 career touchdowns at Oklahoma State in four years as a starter, is a perfect fit for what Ole Miss does in its quarterback run game. Howard, a former 5-star recruit at LSU, showcased his ability to throw the deep ball and generated a lot of explosive plays, but he also turned the ball over and is still probably a year away from being a serious candidate for the starting job.
Long-term outlook: Dart was good enough (and consistent enough) in the spring that it’s going to be difficult for anyone to unseat him. What he did better than anybody was get the ball into the end zone, and that’s the ultimate measure of a quarterback. But to say Sanders, especially with all of his experience and athleticism, is too far behind to catch Dart would be premature. And who’s to say both quarterbacks won’t contribute in some form or fashion in 2023? Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has been adamant that he’s going to build the most talented roster he can, and he knows as well as anyone you can never have enough good quarterbacks. Ole Miss goes so fast on offense it helps to have as many reps as possible in that system. For Dart, everything seemed to slow down this spring, and his footwork, timing and rhythm were all improved. Ole Miss doesn’t have to name a starter until more than three months from now. But if that decision had to be made today, it would be Dart. — Low
QB contenders: Joe Milton III, Nico Iamaleava
Post-spring Week 1 favorite: Joe Milton III
How the spring affected the race: It was Milton’s job to lose, especially given the way he played when he filled in at the end of last season for the injured Hendon Hooker. Milton was excellent against a talented Clemson defense in Tennessee’s 31-14 Orange Bowl win over the Tigers, and he built on that success this spring. The best news for the Vols is they had an ultratalented freshman pushing Milton all spring in Iamaleava, who arrived in December and went through the bowl practices. There’s a ton of hype surrounding Iamaleava, who has elite arm talent, but Tennessee coach Josh Heupel was impressed with the way Iamaleava came to practice every day determined to get better, never showed any entitlement and soaked up everything he could from Milton. During the early part of his Tennessee career, Milton was prone to overthrowing receivers and getting too amped. He showed this spring he’s capable of playing within the system, making big plays and being a team leader.
Long-term outlook: Heupel and the entire offensive staff are excited to see Milton operate now that he knows (and the team knows) that he’s clearly the man at quarterback. Milton beat out Hooker as the starter when he transferred from Michigan, but it became clear a few games into the 2021 season that Hooker was the better quarterback. Milton knows the 2023 season is his chance to make the kind of jump that Hooker did, and at 6-5, 242 pounds and with an arm that’s one of the strongest in college football, Milton has the tools to blossom into one of the top quarterbacks in the country. He will also be valuable in short-yardage situations with his ability to run but consistency will be the key. He has to prove he can do it over the course of the entire season, and all the while, the Vols know they have their quarterback of the future ready (Iamaleava) if Milton stumbles or experiences injury problems. — Low
QB contenders: Quinn Ewers, Maalik Murphy, Arch Manning
Post-spring Week 1 favorite: Quinn Ewers
How the spring affected the race: Sophomore Ewers was the favorite after making 10 starts last season, and nothing this spring put any wrinkles into that plan. At the beginning of the spring, with Murphy being held back with a leg injury, much attention was on Manning, the star freshman. Coach Steve Sarkisian said he would give Manning every opportunity to battle for the job and didn’t want to put limits on him. But by the time the spring game rolled around, Ewers (16-for-23, 195 yards, TD) was a solid No. 1, redshirt freshman Murphy (9-for-13, 165 yards, TD) put on show of his own in his first appearance in front of Texas fans, and Manning, who played with freshmen and backups, went 5-for-13 for 30 yards. “I think it’s pretty clear to say that Quinn’s our starting quarterback and we feel very good about that,” Sarkisian said after the game.
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Arch Manning receives ovation, throws 1st completion in Texas spring game
Arch Manning receives a loud ovation from the Texas fans, then throws a completion in his first pass attempt during the Longhorns’ spring game.
Long-term outlook: Ewers said he wasn’t where he wanted to be last year, when he ranked 53rd nationally in QBR (64.3), but he will helm a reloaded Texas offense that has a strong supporting cast at wide receiver and tight end. Sarkisian is enamored with Murphy’s arm strength and ability to make all the throws. He has a good problem, with three potential starting quarterbacks in his room, but it could prove to be a challenge to keep all of them in Austin. After redshirting in 2021 at Ohio State before transferring to Texas, Ewers could depart for the NFL with a strong season. The Mannings, meanwhile, knew the transition from a private school to Austin would not be an easy one, so the idea of a redshirt has never been out of the question, which is a luxury for both Manning and the Longhorns. “He’s on the right trajectory he should be on,” Sarkisian told Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan about Manning after spring practice. “He’s a true freshman in college. He really should still be in high school. He just finished his first semester on the Forty Acres, so there’s a definite transition there. … There’s a lot of room for him to grow this summer. Ultimately, it’s a great room that we have.” — Dave Wilson
QB contenders: Dante Moore, Ethan Garbers, Collin Schlee, Justyn Martin, Chase Griffin
Post-spring Week 1 favorite: Dante Moore
How the spring affected the race: Some separation was created. While the quarterback battle in Westwood appeared to be particularly crowded after the departure of longtime Chip Kelly stalwart Dorian Thompson-Robinson, spring showed that Moore, Garbers and Schlee are the three who are truly fighting for the job. Moore was the most impressive of the bunch, which is no surprise given his five-star rating, but does complicate things given he’s the least experienced of the trio. Garbers has shown himself to be plenty capable in limited play during the past two years and that continued this spring. Schlee, meanwhile, is the wild card. The senior arrives by way of Kent State, and while there were likely no promises made to him about a starting role, there had to have been at least an expectation that he was the favorite. After spring camp, however, it’s a three-person race.
Long-term outlook: This is a true pick-your-poison situation for Kelly, who does not appear to be in a hurry to make a decision. Garbers is the longtime backup who is familiar with the system but whose ceiling isn’t exactly soaring. Schlee is the incoming transfer who combines both talent with experience and should be good enough to keep UCLA afloat should Kelly hand him the ball. Moore, meanwhile, is the potential superstar who has already shown in spring that he is not going to settle for being second fiddle. Kelly knows Moore will be the starter sooner or later. The question is: Can he bring himself to go bold and let the true freshman start from the first snap of the season? Or will he play it safe, start Garbers or Schlee, and then eventually turn to Moore when in need of a spark? — Paolo Uggetti
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David Schoenfield
We’re past due to hand out some midseason grades, so let’s hand out some midseason grades.
As we pass the 90-game mark in the 2025 MLB season, my team of the first half isn’t the well-rounded Detroit Tigers, who do get our highest grade for owning MLB’s best record, or the explosive Chicago Cubs or Shohei Ohtani‘s Los Angeles Dodgers, but a team most baseball fans love to hate: the Houston Astros. They lost their two best players from last season and their best hitter has been injured — and they’re playing their best baseball since they won the 2022 World Series.
Let’s get to the grades. As always, we’re grading off preseason expectations, factoring in win-loss record and quality of performance, while looking at other positive performances and injuries.
Jump to a team:
AL East: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
AL Central: CHW | CLE | DET | KC | MIN
AL West: ATH | HOU | LAA | SEA | TEX
NL East: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH
NL Central: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL
NL West: ARI | COL | LAD | SD | SF
Tarik Skubal is obviously the headline act, but the Tigers are winning with impressive depth across the entire roster.
Javier Baez is putting together a remarkable comeback season after a couple of abysmal years and will become the first player to start an All-Star Game at both shortstop and in the outfield. Former No. 1 overall picks Casey Mize and Spencer Torkelson have put together their own comeback stories, while Riley Greene has matured into one of the game’s top power hitters.
Given their deep well of prospects and contributors at the MLB level, no team is better positioned than the Tigers to add significant help at the trade deadline.
I heard someone refer to them as the Zombie Astros, which feels apropos. Alex Bregman left as a free agent, they traded Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez has been injured and has just three home runs, and the Jose Altuve experiment in left field predictably fizzled.
But here they are, fighting for the best record in the majors and holding a comfortable lead in the AL West. They’re getting star turns from Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez and Jeremy Pena, while the risky decision to start Cam Smith in the majors with very little minor league experience has paid off, as he has now become their cleanup hitter.
If we ignore the COVID-19 season, the Astros look on their way to an eighth straight division title.
This could be at least a half-grade higher based on everything that has gone right: Pete Crow-Armstrong‘s attention-grabbing breakout, Tucker doing everything expected after the big trade, Seiya Suzuki‘s monster power numbers and Matthew Boyd‘s All-Star turn in the rotation. The Cubs are on pace for their most wins since their World Series title season in 2016.
There have been a few hiccups, however, especially in the rotation with Justin Steele‘s season-ending injury and Ben Brown‘s inconsistency, plus rookie third baseman Matt Shaw has scuffled, and the bench has been weak aside from their backup catchers.
Still, this is a powerhouse lineup, and the Cubs will seek to improve their rotation at the deadline.
They just keep winning of late, going from 25-27 and seven games behind the Yankees on May 25 to taking over first place from the slumping Bronx Bombers, a remarkable turnaround over just 36 games. They went 27-9 over a 36-game stretch ending with their eighth win in a row on Sunday.
George Springer‘s recent surge has been fun to watch, a reminder of how good he was at his peak, and Addison Barger has been mashing over the past two months.
Some of the stats don’t add up to the Blue Jays being this good — they’ve barely outscored their opponents — but there might be more offense in the tank from the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a healthy Anthony Santander, and the bullpen, a soft spot, is the easiest area to upgrade.
Their success is best summed up by the fact that Freddy Peralta is their lone All-Star, but they have a whole bunch of players who have contributed between 1 and 2 WAR.
Brandon Woodruff looked good Sunday in his first start in nearly two years, so that could be a huge boost for the second half.
I’m curious to see how Jackson Chourio performs as well. While his counting stats — extra-base hits, RBIs — are fine, his triple-slash line remains below last season, especially his OBP. He had a huge second half in 2024 (.310/.363/.552), and if he does that again, the Brewers could find themselves back in the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons.
The Rays started off slow, with a losing record through the end of April, but then went 33-22 in May and June to claw back into the AL East race — as the Rays usually do, last year being the recent exception.
Two key performers have been All-Star third baseman Junior Caminero, who has a chance to become just the third player to hit 40 home runs in his age-21 season, and All-Star first baseman Jonathan Aranda.
Due to the league wanting the Rays to play more home games early in the season, the July and August slate will be very road-heavy, so we’ll see how the Rays adapt to a difficult two-month stretch, especially since their pitching isn’t quite as deep as it has been in other seasons.
No, they’re not going to be the greatest team of all time. But they might win 100 games — even though Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, their huge offseason acquisitions, have combined for just two wins in 10 starts.
The lineup, of course, has been terrific, with Ohtani leading the NL in several categories and Will Smith leading the batting race. By wRC+, it’s been the best offense in Dodgers history.
If they can get some combo of Snell, Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow healthy, plus Ohtani eventually ramped up to a bigger workload on the mound, the Dodgers still loom as World Series favorites.
They are on pace for 95 wins, mainly on the strength of Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez, who are a combined 23-7 with 11.8 WAR. Jesus Luzardo‘s ERA is bloated due to that two-start stretch when he allowed 20 runs, but he has otherwise been solid as well.
But, overall, it hasn’t always been the smoothest of treks. The bullpen has imploded a few times and the offense has lacked power aside from Kyle Schwarber. Bryce Harper is back after missing three weeks, and they need to get his bat going. Look for some bullpen additions at the trade deadline — and perhaps an outfielder as well.
The Cardinals have been a minor surprise — perhaps even to the Cardinals themselves. St. Louis was viewing this as a rebuilding year of sorts — not that the Cardinals ever hit rock bottom and start completely over. They had a hot May, winning 12 of 13 at one point, but the offense has been fading of late, with those three straight shutout losses to Pittsburgh and six shutout losses since June 25.
The starting rotation doesn’t generate a lot of swing and miss, with both Erick Fedde and Miles Mikolas seeing their ERAs starting to climb. Brendan Donovan is the team’s only All-Star rep, and that kind of sums up this team: solid but without any star power. That might foretell a second-half fade.
All-Star starting pitchers Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, plus a dominant bullpen, have led the way, although after starting 12-4, the Giants have basically been a .500 team for close to three months now. Rafael Devers hasn’t yet ignited the offense since coming over from Boston, and the Giants have lost four 1-0 games.
These final three games at home against the Dodgers before the All-Star break will be a crucial series, as Los Angeles has slowly pulled away in the NL West.
This was an “A-plus” through June 12, when the Mets were 45-24 and owned the best record in baseball, even though Juan Soto hadn’t gotten hot. Soto finally got going in June, but the pitching collapsed, and the Mets went through a disastrous 1-10 stretch.
The rotation injuries have piled up, exacerbating the lack of bullpen depth. Recent games have been started by Justin Hagenman (who had a 6.21 ERA in Triple-A), journeyman reliever Chris Devenski, Paul Blackburn (7.71 ERA) and Frankie Montas, who has had to start even though he’s clearly not throwing the ball well. The Mets need to get the rotation healthy, but also could use more offense from Mark Vientos and their catchers (Francisco Alvarez was demoted to Triple-A).
At times it has felt like Cal Raleigh has been a one-man team with his record-breaking first half. But he will be joined on the All-Star squad by starting pitcher Bryan Woo, closer Andres Munoz and center fielder Julio Rodriguez, who made it on the strength of his defense, as his offense has been a disappointment.
The offense has been one of the best in the majors on the road, but the rotation has been nowhere near as effective as the past couple of seasons, with George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller all missing time with injuries. They just shut out the Pirates three games in a row, so maybe that will get the rotation on a roll.
They’re just out of the wild-card picture while hanging around .500, so we give them a decent grade since that exceeds preseason expectations. It feels like a little bit of a mirage given their run differential — their record in one-run games (good) versus their record in blowout games (not good) — and various holes across the lineup and pitching staff.
But they’ve done two things to keep them in the race. One, they hit a lot of home runs. Two, they’re the only team in the majors to use just five starting pitchers. The rotation hasn’t been stellar, but it’s been stable.
The Padres are probably fortunate to be where they are, given some of their issues. As expected, the offensive depth has been a problem.
Not as expected, Dylan Cease has struggled while Michael King‘s injury after a strong start has left them without last year’s dynamic 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation (although Nick Pivetta has been one of the best signings of the offseason). Yu Darvish just made his season debut Monday, so hopefully he’ll provide a lift.
The Padres haven’t played well against the better teams, including a 2-5 record against the Dodgers, but they did clean up against the Athletics, Rockies and Pirates, going 16-2 against those three teams.
For now, the Reds are stuck in neutral. Leave out 2022, when they lost 100 games, and it’s otherwise been a string of .500-ish seasons: 31-29 in 2020, 83-79 in 2021, 82-80 in 2023, 77-85 in 2024 and now a similar record so far in 2025.
The hope was that Terry Francona would be a difference-maker. Maybe that will play out down the stretch, but the best hope is to get the rotation clicking on all cylinders at the same time. That means Andrew Abbott continuing his breakout performance, plus getting Hunter Greene healthy again and rookie Chase Burns to live up to the hype after a couple of shaky outings following an impressive MLB debut.
Throw in Nick Lodolo and solid Nick Martinez and Brady Singer, and this group can be good enough to pitch the Reds to their first full-season playoff appearance since 2013.
The Yankees have hit their annual midseason swoon — which has been subject to much intense analysis from their disgruntled fans — and that opening weekend sweep of the Brewers, when the Yankees’ torpedo bats were the big story in baseball, now seems long ago.
Going from seven up to three back in such a short time is a disaster — but not disastrous. Nonetheless, the Yankees will have to do some hard-core self-evaluation heading to the trade deadline.
The offense wasn’t going to be as good as it was in April, when Paul Goldschmidt, Trent Grisham and Ben Rice were all playing over their heads. So, do they need a hitter? Or with Clarke Schmidt now likely joining Gerrit Cole as a Tommy John casualty, do they need a starting pitcher? Or both?
From the book of “things we didn’t expect,” page 547: The Marlins are averaging more runs per game than the Orioles, Padres, Braves and Rangers, to name a few teams. They’re averaging almost as many runs per game as the Mets, and last time we checked, the Marlins weren’t the team to give Soto $765 million.
An eight-game winning streak at the end of June has the Marlins going toe-to-toe with the Braves for third place in the NL East even though the starting rotation has been a mess, with Sandy Alcantara on track to become just the fourth qualified pitcher with an ERA over 7.00.
Heading into the season, I thought that if any team was going to challenge the Dodgers in the NL West, it would be the Diamondbacks. The offense has once again been one of the best in the majors, but the pitching issues have been painful.
After the aggressive move to sign Corbin Burnes, he went down with Tommy John surgery after 11 starts. Meanwhile, Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt each have an ERA on the wrong side of 5.00. Rodriguez was better in June before a shellacking on July 4, while Gallen remains homer-prone, so it’s hard to tell if improvement is on the horizon. Their playoff odds are hovering just under 20%, so there’s a chance, but they need to get red-hot like they did last July and August.
It feels like it has been more soap opera than baseball season in Boston, with the Devers drama finally ending with the shocking trade with the Giants.
If you give added weight that this is the Red Sox, a team that should be operating with the big boys in both budget and aspirations and instead seemed to only want to dump Devers’ contract, then feel free to lower this grade a couple of notches, even if the Red Sox are close in the wild-card standings.
On the field, the heralded rookie trio of Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer hasn’t exactly clicked, with Campbell returning to the minors after posting a .902 OPS in April. A big test will come out of the All-Star break, when they play the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, Twins and Astros in a tough 15-game stretch.
After last season’s surprise playoff appearance, it’s been a frustrating 2025 — although I’m not sure this result is necessarily a surprise.
There were concerns about the offense heading into the season and those concerns have proven correct. They were getting no production from their outfield, so they rushed Jac Caglianone to the majors to much hype, but he has struggled and might need a reset back in Triple-A. Even Bobby Witt Jr., as good as he has been (on pace for 7.5 WAR), has seen his OPS drop 140 points.
On the bright side, Kris Bubic emerged as an All-Star starter and Noah Cameron has filled in nicely for the injured Cole Ragans, so maybe they trade a starter for some offense.
Coming off a catastrophic 2024 season, nobody was expecting anything from the White Sox. Indeed, another 121-loss season loomed as a possibility. While they’re on pace to lose 100 again, they’ve at least played more competitive baseball thanks to their pitching.
Rookie starters Shane Smith and Sean Burke have shown promise, while rookie position players Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero and now Colson Montgomery are getting their initial taste of the majors.
There has been the mix of calamity: Luis Robert Jr. has been unproductive and is probably now untradable, and former No. 3 overall pick Andrew Vaughn hit .189 and was traded to the Brewers.
The Twins are one organization that might like a do-over of the past five seasons. It feels like they’ve had the most talent in the division, but all they’ve done is squeeze out one soft division title in 2023. Now, the Tigers have passed them in talent and other factors, such as payroll flexibility.
There’s still time for the Twins to turn things around in 2025, but outside of that wonderful 13-game winning streak, they haven’t played winning baseball.
Overall, it’s been yet another bad season, despite Paul Skenes‘ brilliance. Really, do we talk enough about him? Yes, we do talk about him, but he has a 1.95 ERA through his first 42 career starts. Incredible.
Here’s an amazing thing about baseball. The Pirates are not a good team, but they recently put together one of the best six-game stretches in history. That’s not stretching the description. First, they swept the Mets — a good team — by scores of 9-1, 9-2 and 12-1. Then they swept the Cardinals — a good team — with three shutouts, 7-0, 1-0 and 5-0. They became the first team since at least 1901 to score 43 runs or more and allow four runs or fewer in a six-game stretch. And then they promptly got shut out three games in a row, making them the first to win three straight shutouts and then lose three straight shutouts.
Eighteen of our 28 voters picked them to win the AL West before the season, but it’s looking more and more like the 2023 World Series might be a stone-cold fluke in the middle of a string of losing seasons. That year, nearly everyone in the lineup had a career year at the plate, and the pitching got hot at the right time.
This year’s Rangers, though, have struggled to score runs, and while some have pointed to the offensive environment at Globe Life Field, they’re near the bottom in road OPS as well. It’s been fun seeing Jacob deGrom back at a dominating level, and Nathan Eovaldi should have been an All-Star.
Put it this way: If the Rangers can somehow squeeze into the postseason, you don’t want to face the Rangers in a short series. Indeed, if any team looms as an October upset special, it might be the Rangers.
The Nationals received superlative first-half performances from James Wood and MacKenzie Gore, while CJ Abrams is on the way to his best season. But there remains a lack of overall organizational progress, which finally led to the firings on Sunday of longtime GM Mike Rizzo and longtime manager Dave Martinez. A 7-19 record in June sealed their fate, as the rotation has been bad and the bullpen arguably the worst in baseball.
Until the Nationals figure out how to improve their pitching — or, better yet, find an owner who wants to win — they will be stuck going nowhere.
That fell apart in a hurry. Sunday’s loss was Cleveland’s 10th in a row, a stretch that remarkably included five shutouts. Indeed, the Guardians have now been shut out 11 times; the franchise record in the post-dead-ball-era (since 1920) is 20 shutouts in 1968.
There’s nothing worse than watching a team that can’t score runs, so that tells you how exciting the Guardians have been. Last year, the Guardians hit exceptionally well with runners in scoring position, keeping afloat what was otherwise a mediocre offense. That hasn’t happened in 2025 (trading Josh Naylor didn’t help either). Throw in some predictable regression from the bullpen, and this season looks lost.
We can’t give this a complete failing grade due to the emergence of All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson (the Athletics’ first All-Star starter since Josh Donaldson in 2014) and slugging first baseman Nick Kurtz, who have a chance to finish 1-2 in the Rookie of the Year voting. Plus, we have Denzel Clarke‘s circus catches in center field.
But otherwise? Ugh. The Sacramento gamble already looks like a disaster, three months into a three-year stay. The team is drawing well below Sutter Health Park’s 14,000-seat capacity, with many recent games drawing under 10,000 fans. Luis Severino bashed the small crowds and the lack of air-conditioning.
The A’s had a groundbreaking ceremony for their new park in Vegas, renting heavy construction equipment as background props. Maybe they should have spent that money on more pitching help.
Based on preseason expectations, the Braves have clearly been the biggest disappointment in the National League — fighting the Orioles for most disappointing overall.
What’s gone wrong? They haven’t scored runs, as the offense continues its remarkable fade from a record-setting performance just two seasons ago. The collapses of Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies lead the way, with lack of production at shortstop and left field playing a big role as well. Closer Raisel Iglesias has struggled, and the team is 11-22 in one-run games. Spencer Strider hasn’t yet reached his pre-injury level and Reynaldo Lopez made just one start before going down.
The Braves haven’t missed the playoffs since 2017, but that run is clearly in jeopardy.
The Orioles have a similar record to the Braves but have played much worse, including losses of 24-2, 19-5, 15-3 and two separate 9-0 shutouts.
They will spend the trade deadline dealing away as many of their impending free agents as possible, and then do a lot of soul-searching heading into the offseason. After making the playoffs in 2023 and 2024, will this season just be a blip? While the pitching struggles aren’t necessarily a big surprise, what has happened to the offense? Are some of their young players prospects or suspects?
After two months of Cleveland Spiders-level baseball, it would be easy to make fun of the Rockies. Especially since they recently announced Walker Monfort — son of the owner — was promoted to executive VP and will replace outgoing president and COO Greg Feasel.
On the other hand, the Rockies are doing something right: They just drew 121,000 for a three-game series against the White Sox.
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Jorge Castillo
NEW YORK — The Yankees designated two-time batting champion DJ LeMahieu for assignment Wednesday, presumably ending the infielder’s seven-year tenure with the organization despite being owed $22 million through next season.
“Tough decisions,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “In the end, it ultimately comes down to how this roster sits and what’s best. You want to provide your manager with enough chess moves to deal with on a day-in and day-out basis in-game.”
Manager Aaron Boone explained that the move resulted from “an evolving conversation” in recent days that included multiple meetings with LeMahieu, a respected veteran in the Yankees’ clubhouse.
It comes a day after Boone announced that Jazz Chisholm Jr. would shift back to playing second base every day from third base, bumping LeMahieu from the team’s everyday second baseman to a bench role. Boone acknowledged LeMahieu took the demotion “not necessarily great” but emphasized that LeMahieu did not ask for his release.
“It’s been a tough couple of days,” Boone said. “Some hard conversations. And then ultimately coming to this decision, conclusion, obviously not easy for [who’s] been a great player. He’s done a lot of great things for this organization. So, difficult, but at the end [we] feel like this is the right thing to do at this time.”
LeMahieu, who turns 37 on Sunday, batted .266 with a .674 OPS in 45 games this season after starting the season on the injured list with a strained calf. He has been better since June 1, hitting .310 with a .754 OPS in 96 plate appearances as the Yankees’ primary second baseman, but Cashman ultimately decided the production wasn’t enough to offset his defensive liabilities.
The Yankees signed LeMahieu to a six-year, $90 million contract before the 2021 season — fresh off LeMahieu hitting .364 during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign to become the first player to win a batting title in both leagues in the modern era — envisioning him as an everyday utility player bouncing between infield positions.
LeMahieu made 36 of his 55 starts last season at third base before going on the injured list in early September with a right hip impingement for the remainder of the year. That injury, according to Cashman, inhibited LeMahieu’s ability to play third base, and led to LeMahieu informing him that he couldn’t physically handle playing the position anymore.
“He was always just sharing that the recovery was really difficult,” Cashman said. “The physical toll on him to tee up at that position was a problem and so therefore that position is a problem.”
The limitation was cemented during spring training when LeMahieu strained his left calf in his first Grapefruit League game playing third base, forcing the Yankees to conclude that LeMahieu was no longer an option at the position. He only played second base in his nine rehab games before making his season debut May 13 as a second baseman with Chisholm on the injured list with an oblique strain.
Three weeks later, Chisholm, who started the season as the team’s everyday second baseman, came off the injured list to play third base despite LeMahieu’s range at second base being glaringly limited. Chisholm, who feels most comfortable at second base, accepted the assignment and returned to third base, a position he picked up last season after the Yankees acquired him from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline through the World Series.
The calculus changed Sunday when Chisholm, with the Yankees in the midst of a six-game losing streak, told reporters that he hurt his shoulder making a throw from third base three weeks earlier and the injury impacted his throwing. Two days later, Chisholm, who had made three throwing errors in his final four starts at third base, was the Yankees’ starting second baseman again.
With Chisholm, an All-Star this season, stationed at second base, former MVPs Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger entrenched at first base and Giancarlo Stanton occupying the DH spot, playing time would have been sparse for LeMahieu.
Factoring in that the Yankees’ options at third base behind Oswald Peraza, who is also the team’s backup shortstop, would have been catcher J.C. Escarra, Cashman determined that LeMahieu’s presence hampered the team’s flexibility to an extent that would have handcuffed Boone’s in-game decision-making. Infielder Jorbit Vivas, a light-hitting versatile defender, was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace LeMahieu on the roster.
“I wouldn’t say he’s unwilling to still make the attempt and maybe spell over there,” Cashman said of LeMahieu. “But it was something that he was without sharing that was steering clear of to the extent he could.
“Because, again, like anything else, he’s got a lot of pride. He’s a great player. He wants to contribute to the team. He loves this team. He loves this organization. But he felt that was an avenue that was no longer a realistic avenue and that kind of ties our hands a little bit more moving forward.”
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