What to expect from college football in 2024: Realignment, a 12-team playoff and a Saban-less SEC
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Heather Dinich, ESPN Senior Writer
The minute after Michigan was presented the national championship trophy in Houston, the college football season — and its accompanying predictions — flipped to 2024.
If ever there was a Y2K year in college football, this was it — but the lights didn’t go out in NRG Stadium and the sport began its journey into unprecedented change that includes sweeping conference realignment and a 12-team playoff that will again alter how the champion is crowned.
Ready or not, here it comes.
“The change is real,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. “You can either run from it and hide, or you can embrace it.”
From a sideline without retired Alabama coaching legend Nick Saban to an Atlantic Coast Conference that includes Pacific Coast teams, college football will look vastly different this fall — even to those immersed in it for a living. The new, expanded playoff will start before Christmas — and end on Jan. 20, 2025, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“It’s a big year,” Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said. “This is a fascinating evolution of the playoff. It’s no small thing.”
Here’s an explanation of all of the big things fans can expect to see changing this fall.
Jump to a topic:
Conference realignment
12-team CFP
CFP schedule
Other bowls
Conference title games
Life without Saban
Who governs the sport?
Who’s in what conference?
Let’s start with the basics, because even that’s nothing you’ve ever seen before.
Beginning with the 2024 season, the Big Ten will be the largest conference in the country with 18 teams, and the ACC — with the additions of SMU, Cal and Stanford — will follow with 17 teams. The SEC and Big 12 will each have 16 teams.
The Pac-12? Well, it’s down to Oregon State and Washington State, which will have a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West Conference.
The SEC will include: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.
The Big 12 will include: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, Utah, West Virginia.
The Big Ten will include: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin, UCLA, USC, Oregon, Washington.
The ACC will include: Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest.
None of them will have divisions, so the top two teams in each league will face meet in their respective conference championship games. Retiring American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco said he believes that even though more history and rivalries will disappear, the love for the sport will remain.
“People enjoy watching games,” Aresco said. “If USC is playing Ohio State, are people going to say, ‘Yeah, it’s a Big Ten game now, I have no interest.’ I don’t think so. This sport has a hold on America, moreso than any other sport.”
How do teams get into the College Football Playoff?
First, exhale — an undefeated Power 5 champion like Florida State will never be excluded again.
“The automatic conference champion was something that was important to the ACC, and I know it was important to other conferences, too,” said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips. “That’s reassuring to everybody.”
The 11 presidents and chancellors who have the ultimate authority over the playoff are expected to soon approve a model that rewards the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams. That places a renewed emphasis on the conference championship games, and it also guarantees a spot in the 12-team field for the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion — a major change from the four-team system, in which the only guarantee for the top G5 champ was a New Year’s Six bowl.
“Our leagues will have a shot,” Aresco said.
The four highest-ranked conference champions will earn the top-four seeds and receive a first-round bye. The other eight teams will play in the first round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or “at other sites designated by the higher-seeded institution.”
That means any team that doesn’t earn the luxury of a first-round bye will have to win four straight games to win the national championship. If a team lost its conference championship game, and played in four straight playoff games, it would have played an unprecedented 17 games.
(And you thought it was hard now).
Be careful not to confuse the seeding with the selection committee’s ranking. The 13-member committee will still issue its weekly top 25, which will be used to determine the highest-ranked conference champs. That means, though, that if Georgia wins the SEC and is ranked No. 1 by the selection committee, and Alabama loses that game and is No. 3 in the CFP ranking — or even No. 2! — the Tide will be seeded No. 5 behind three other conference champs and Georgia.
(Read that again, please).
Historically, the selection committee releases six rankings, which would likely begin this year on Nov. 5, but that is expected to be determined in April at the annual CFP spring meeting. As of now, there is no minimum ranking requirement for the five highest-ranked conference champions. Any independent like Notre Dame cannot earn a first-round bye because it cannot win a conference title. That also applies to Washington State and Oregon State, which have a temporary scheduling arrangement with the Mountain West and can compete for the national championship, but aren’t eligible to win the MWC and don’t constitute a league of their own, per NCAA and CFP rules.
With the sheer number of Big Ten and SEC teams, there’s a possibility that those leagues could fill the bulk of the field.
“We’ve got great depth,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said. “I expect us to have very strong representation in the playoff. I think our coaches expect it, our ADs expect it, our fans expect it. We’re good, we’re deep, and that’s the best advantage.”
Steinbrecher said, “if they earn it, they earn it.”
“I’m a big believer you’re going to earn your way into this thing,” he said. “I’m not quite convinced that it will be totally that [an SEC-Big Ten majority], but we’ll see how it plays out.”
When are the CFP games?
First round (on-campus)
Friday, Dec. 20, 2024: One game (evening)
Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024: Three games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (evening)
Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl Game (late afternoon) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (evening)
Semifinals
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025: Capital One Orange Bowl (evening)
Friday, Jan. 10, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (evening)
CFP National Championship game
Monday, Jan. 20, 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
What will happen to the rest of the bowls?
Traditionally, bowl season has started the second Saturday after the conference title games, which will now also be when the playoff starts (see above). Nick Carparelli, executive director of Bowl Season, said the organization will meet with the conference commissioners and ESPN in late January to consider starting earlier.
“That gives an opportunity for some teams who just qualified for bowl games who are excited about the opportunity to play the game sooner, and then to be able to get on with their recruiting,” Carparelli said. “And maybe some of these guys who are entering the transfer portal will play that last game because they don’t have to wait around too long and then go on and do what’s best for them after that.”
The NCAA’s football competition committee meets late February, but a final decision is unlikely to be approved until later in the spring.
The current December schedule for college football is crammed. The transfer window opened on Dec. 4 — the day after the committee announced the playoff teams, and two days after the conference title games. Players were allowed to transfer through Jan. 2 — the day after the CFP semifinals. Sandwiched between all of that was the Dec. 20 early signing day.
“The problem is not the bowls or the bowl system,” Carparelli said. “The problem is the circumstances that we’ve allowed to be created around it.”
Incoming freshmen were watching the transfer portal, and transfers were watching the signing classes. Fans were watching bowl games without some of their star players.
“I think the recruiting calendar in December has to change,” Sankey said. “That’s not something new for me to say. We’re prepared to address it. We’ll spend time as a league and resend ideas again. The early signing date cannot remain where it is. That’s not fair to the highest-level teams. Where the other 110 teams in the bowl subdivision care or FCS, they have to be attentive that this end of football drives the lot. The notion that it’s an awkward timing is reality.”
The New Year’s Six bowls, which are the Cotton, Fiesta, Peach, Rose, Sugar and Orange bowls, will remain a part of the CFP in 2024 and 2025, but the commissioners haven’t said publicly yet how they will figure into the rotation in the next contract.
“There’s so much that’s still going to be discussed, and that’s a topic that still needs to be vetted out,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said, “but from my perspective there’s a great history with the New Year’s Six. In some respects they credentialize those games because there’s a lot of awareness around them. There will be more conversation, but I’m optimistic those games will be a part of the future.”
Phillips has been outspoken about the bowl games outside of the New Year’s Six, and said the commissioners continue to talk about how to keep the bowl season healthy, while also wondering if more than 40 bowls is sustainable.
“Likely not,” Phillips said.
“I just feel that if we don’t pay close attention to that, that will do college football harm,” he said. “There has always been an awful lot of good football teams at the end of the year that want a chance to continue to play, and this new playoff will whet the appetite of many, but it will only kind of quench the thirst of 12. … There’ll be other good teams that have been left out, so we have to try to learn about what we’ve seen through the CFP current model of four, where now we have the transfer portal, opt-outs at a higher rate than before. There’s always been medical reasons why student-athletes haven’t played as well. That’s a piece of this we have to use as part of the decision-making in what we do with the rest of the bowl system.”
To become bowl eligible a school must have a minimum of six wins with a winning percentage of .500. In 2023, the bowls were only one team short, and 5-7 Minnesota filled in. In 2022, Rice was the only team that filled in, and in 2021, there was one team too many from COVID-10 lingering effects.
“Recent historical data tells us we’re at the right number for bowls,” Carparelli said. “It’s impossible to know at the beginning of the season how many bowl-eligible teams you’ll have at the end, but with the information we have, we’re right at the right number.”
Carparelli said the postseason doesn’t have to be an “either-or” between the CFP and the rest of the bowls.
“It’s both combined,” he said. “They both play a really important role in college football.”
What’s the future of conference championship games?
Conference championship games, theoretically, should receive increased interest, given that the top five winners will earn a trip to the playoff and a first-round bye. There has been no indication from any of the commissioners that there is a desire to relinquish such a valuable property — at least not any time soon.
“We’re committed to playing a championship game,” the Big Ten’s Petitti said. “I think in the structure we’re talking about, there’s enough to still play for. It does mean something to win the Big Ten championship. Our fans really support the game and love it. We saw that this year. And the strength of it on a consistent basis is only going to improve with a no-division format. Now you’re matching up two really, really strong teams.”
Yormark called it “a tentpole moment” for the Big 12.
“Will that change over time? I don’t know,” he said. “I love our game. It creates a wonderful narrative. If you just look at this year’s champ game — highest-attended ever. Highest-gross ever, created a ton of excitement, more social media engagement than any other champ game in our history. But with the ever-changing landscape, we’ll have to see what unfolds in the future.”
What will college football look like without Nick Saban?
It won’t be the same without his news conferences, with the coach always next to his trusty Coke bottle, which is “not a crystal ball,” aight?
Not even Saban knows what Alabama will look like when the Kalen DeBoer era begins this fall, but it’s safe to say his retirement will have a trickle-down effect on the entire sport — from the coaching trees he once planted to a door that could open for other SEC teams on the brink of reaching the title game.
(Cough, cough, Lane Kiffin).
With Oklahoma and Texas joining the conference, the SEC will eliminate its divisions this fall, and teams will play eight conference games plus one required opponent from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, or “major independent.” With the 16-team league, the cutthroat competition of chasing Alabama in the now-extinct SEC West will change. That won’t necessarily make it any easier, as LSU still faces the Tide, Ole Miss — and Oklahoma. Ole Miss doesn’t play Alabama, but hosts Georgia and travels to LSU. Georgia faces Alabama during the regular season — along with Texas.
The top two teams that emerge from this slugfest will play for the SEC title.
Saban has been the face of the SEC, and while Georgia coach Kirby Smart has closed the gap on the Tide by winning two of the past three national titles, Saban set the bar by winning six of his seven titles in Tuscaloosa. Even Georgia has a long way to go before matching that dynasty, though Saban will no longer be the one preventing it in the SEC title game.
In addition to Saban’s replacement, there will also be new faces at the highest level of CFP leadership. CFP executive director Bill Hancock has announced his retirement and will be succeeded by Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, who is currently the superintendent of the Air Force Academy.
In the AAC, Aresco is retiring, and the conference is in the midst of a search for his replacement.
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick has also announced his retirement, and will be replaced by NBC Sports Group chairman and Notre Dame alum Pete Bevacqua. Both Aresco and Swarbrick are members of the CFP management committee.
Will the CFP ever become the governing body of the CFB?
For years, some leaders in college athletics have pushed for FBS football to operate outside of the NCAA’s governance structure. In 2020, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics recommended an organization called the National College Football Association govern FBS football through revenue it generates from the CFP media contract.
FBS football is currently the only collegiate sport that runs its championship and all of its revenue outside of the NCAA. While there hasn’t been enough support for the sport to operate under the purview of the CFP, there are still commissioners and athletic directors who believe the CFP should have more authority moving forward.
“My hope would be it becomes more of an enterprise, like a conference or the NCAA and grow beyond just the game operations,” Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said. “Right now it has big games, events, but it also has revenue distribution. I would like to see us connect rules to the game, policy around the game. The NCAA has academics, transfers, all that, but I would like to see the CFP plug into the policymaking in a more direct manner because right now it exists on the periphery, but it has all the right people in the room.”
Petitti said the governance of the sport isn’t his priority right now.
“Right now I would say the priority is getting the 12-team playoff right,” Petitti said. “That’s the focus. You’re asking it to do a lot more. I know it’s been talked about a lot, but my focus in terms of how I try to contribute in the room and how to represent the Big Ten is to make sure we do that right first.”
Phillips, who has been the only Power 5 commissioner to serve on both the NCAA Constitution and Transformation committees (2022), said there has been some benefit to having the CFP operate outside of the NCAA. Phillips said “it’s worked so far,” but the commissioners will continue to assess if it should remain unchanged.
“What does it do to other sports?” said Phillips, who will become the president of the Collegiate Commissioners Association this summer. “What does it say to other sports, to the other student-athletes and coaches who are in those sports to have one stand alone? I’m not saying positive or negative, but all of it has to be considered, and we’ll continue to do that.”
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Alden Gonzalez
Max Muncy returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ lineup on Monday, Aaron Judge was back in the New York Yankees‘ batting order on Tuesday, and with that, the two teams that met in last year’s World Series — and had been underperforming to varying degrees in recent weeks — received valuable reinforcements for the stretch run.
They’re far from alone.
Now that the trade deadline has passed and less than two months remain in the regular season, contending teams throughout the sport are counting on key players returning from injury in the days and weeks ahead, hoping they might make the difference between missing out on October and winning it all. And given the landscape, which many consider as wide-open as ever, they just might.
Below is a look at some of the most impactful players on their way back.
Expected return date: The injury to Álvarez’s right hand has featured plenty of drama and required a lot of patience. The Astros initially diagnosed it as a muscle strain in early May and began the process of ramping him up by late June. Then came lingering pain, prompting a visit to a specialist and the revelation that the outfielder was dealing with a fractured bone. Perhaps, though, there is a light at the end of this tunnel. Álvarez resumed hitting off a tee and taking soft toss a couple weeks ago and hit on the field at the team’s spring training facility on Tuesday. The Astros are going to be really careful this time around, but there is hope he can help them down the stretch.
What he means to the team: The Astros lost Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker over the offseason and have received just 121 plate appearances from Álvarez — and a paltry slash line of .210/.306/.340 — yet they’re on pace for their eighth American League West title in nine years. You would be hard-pressed to find a more impressive development this season. When healthy, Álvarez is on par with Judge and Shohei Ohtani among the game’s most imposing hitters. Given how well the Astros have pitched, plugging Álvarez back into the middle of their lineup — with an ascending Jeremy Peña, a better-of-late Jose Altuve and what they hope is a rejuvenated Carlos Correa — could put them in the conversation for the best team in the AL, if not all baseball.
Expected return date: Right-hander Assad, out all year with a left oblique injury he reaggravated around late April, made his third rehab start on Wednesday, looking sharp while pitching into the fifth inning. His next step could be joining the rotation. Taillon is right behind him. The 33-year-old right-hander has been dealing with a right calf strain for a little more than a month but pitched three innings in a Triple-A rehab start on Sunday. He gave up seven runs, but he also came out of it feeling healthy. That’s all that matters at this point. Cubs starters not named Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga have combined for a 4.63 ERA this season. And at this point, there is no outside help coming.
What they mean to the team: The Cubs did not land the controllable front-line starter they desired before the trade deadline. The starter they did acquire, Michael Soroka, pitched two innings in his debut on Monday, then landed on the injured list with right shoulder discomfort. Now, the Cubs need to make up for what they lack in their rotation internally. Assad fashioned a 3.73 ERA in 29 starts last year and was effective both out of the rotation and in the bullpen in 2023. Taillon, a proven innings eater who consistently pounds the strike zone, is probably as good a complement to Boyd and Imanaga as the Cubs can get.
Expected return date: Bieber, who had Tommy John surgery, has not taken the mound in a major league game since April 2, 2024, but the former Cy Young Award winner’s return is approaching. The right-hander made his fifth rehab start — and first since being acquired by the Blue Jays — on Sunday, striking out six batters across five innings. He’ll make another start on Saturday, then perhaps one more after that. Then the Blue Jays will see if they can get the front-line starter they envisioned when they unloaded promising pitching prospect Khal Stephen to pry Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians last week.
What he means to the team: The Blue Jays are counting on several offensive contributors returning in the not-too-distant future, including George Springer, Andrés Giménez and, they hope, Anthony Santander. But Bieber is the wild card. If he’s close to what he was even after winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2020 — a guy who put up a 3.13 ERA and struck out 459 batters in 436⅔ innings from 2021 to 2024 — he can join Kevin Gausman and José Berríos to form a really solid rotation trio in October. But the initial returns from Tommy John surgery can be tricky. Just ask Sandy Alcántara.
Expected return date: Bohm took a sinker to his left side on July 12 and later learned he had suffered a fractured rib, but the 29-year-old third baseman has been hitting ground balls and taking batting practice and will now venture out on a rehab assignment. He could return to the Phillies’ lineup this month. Nola went on the injured list for the first time in eight years because of a sprained right ankle in mid-May, then was diagnosed with a stress reaction in one of his ribs a month later. Now, Nola is finally on his way back. He went 3⅔ innings in his second rehab start on Wednesday and will make one or two more before rejoining the rotation.
What they mean to the team: Bohm and Nola have served as catalysts while these Phillies have ascended to near the top of the sport in recent years, and it’s hard not to see them having a massive say — good or bad — in October. The Phillies need them to be healthy, but they also need them to be better. Bohm was slugging just .391 before going down. Nola, meanwhile, carried a 6.16 ERA through his first nine starts — one year after receiving Cy Young votes. The Phillies’ rotation has been one of the game’s best this season, and it can handle an ineffective Nola if it absolutely has to. But the offense needs Bohm’s production.
Expected return date: Burger is navigating his second stint on the IL this season, this time because of a left quad strain, but he has played in a couple of rehab games and could return before the end of the Rangers’ current homestand. Carter, an outfielder, was shut down with back spasms on Saturday, and though there’s currently no reason to believe it’s a serious injury, it’s worrisome when you consider how back issues plagued him in 2024.
What they mean to the team: The 2025 Rangers do everything well except the one thing they felt they could do best: hit. And while the offense has been a lot better lately, the Rangers could use more production from Burger and Carter in hopes of grabbing a playoff spot in a wide-open AL. Burger has slashed just .228/.259/.401 in his first year in Texas, but could at the very least platoon with fellow first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who has been a godsend since signing a minor league deal in early July. Carter, a rookie sensation during the stretch run of the team’s championship season in 2023, was slashing just .238/.323/.381.
Expected return date: Gasser, the 26-year-old left-hander who excelled in his first five major league starts last year, is in the late stages of his recovery from Tommy John surgery. His fourth rehab start came Sunday, during which he threw 16 pitches in the game and 19 in the bullpen. The Brewers are building him back up as a starter, so he still needs to increase his pitch count. But he’s on track to join a loaded Brewers pitching staff before the end of August. So is rookie All-Star Jacob Misiorowski, who suffered a bruised left shin last week but isn’t expected to miss much more than the minimum amount of time. Outfielder Jackson Chourio, who landed on the IL with a hamstring strain last week, could be back by the end of the month, too.
What he means to the team: The Brewers acquired Gasser as part of the package that sent former closer Josh Hader to San Diego in summer 2022 and watched him shine as a rookie in 2024, putting up a 2.57 ERA with one walk in 28 innings. But then his ulnar collateral ligament gave out, triggering a long rehab that is finally reaching its conclusion. The Brewers see him as a starter long term, but there might not be room for him in the 2025 rotation. If that’s the case, he can be an impact lefty out of the bullpen. The Brewers acquired only one traditional reliever in Shelby Miller before the trade deadline, largely because they believe starters like Gasser, Chad Patrick and Tobias Myers can help them out of the bullpen when it matters most.
Expected return date: It has been a long, slow climb back for Greene and the right groin strain he suffered, for a second time, on June 3. The right-hander seemed to be approaching a return in July, but he experienced lingering pain and had to shut it down once more. Now, though, his return seems imminent. Greene navigated a third rehab start on Sunday, during which he struck out seven batters in 3⅓ innings, and is scheduled to ramp up to 80 pitches on Friday. After that, he could rejoin the rotation. With Nick Lodolo shut down with a blister that materialized on his left index finger in his Monday start, the Reds need Greene now more than ever.
What he means to the team: Here’s what Greene has done since the start of last July: 1.92 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 133 strikeouts, 30 walks, 112⅔ innings. Those are the numbers of not just a traditional front-line starter, but of one of the best pitchers in the game. The Reds have hung around all year, getting better starting pitching than they probably anticipated, but less offense than they hoped. They’ve underperformed their projections, but they still sit just three games back of a playoff spot. Greene — and Lodolo, who might require only a minimum stint on the injured list — could make the difference.
Expected return date: For the better part of two months, questions swirled around the state of King’s health and whether he would pitch at all this season. The 30-year-old right-hander was dealing with a thoracic nerve issue in his right shoulder, an exceedingly rare injury for a pitcher. He simply had to wait for the pain to subside, with no idea when it would. Now, though, he is on the doorstep of returning to the major leagues. King threw 61 pitches in 3⅓ innings in a rehab start on Sunday, allowing six runs but also striking out five batters. His next start is expected to come this weekend against the Boston Red Sox.
What he means to the team: Padres general manager A.J. Preller put together an epic trade deadline, upgrading at catcher, adding two competent bats to the lineup and, most notably, landing another impact arm for the bullpen. His starting-pitching additions, though, were depth players; JP Sears and Nestor Cortes are not expected to make playoff starts. What the Padres need is for King — their Game 1 starter in last year’s postseason, their Opening Day starter this year and owner of a 2.59 ERA in his first 10 starts — to join Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish and Nick Pivetta in the rotation to truly make this one of the most well-rounded teams in the sport. It seems that will happen.
Expected return date: Kopech, nursing a right knee injury, has been throwing bullpen sessions and is expected to be activated once he’s eligible to come off the 60-day injured list in late August. Left-hander Scott, dealing with elbow inflammation, has also been throwing off a mound and doesn’t seem far off, either. Yates’ situation, though, is a little hazier. The 38-year-old right-hander had been dealing with lower back pain for a couple weeks before landing on the IL at the start of August. There is no timetable for his return, though it seems possible that he, too, can be back before the end of the month.
What they mean to the team: The Dodgers have once again absorbed a slew of injuries throughout their staff, having already deployed 38 pitchers — one year after setting a franchise record by using 40. Their bullpen has led the majors in innings for most of this season. At the deadline, though, the front office acted conservatively, adding just one bullpen arm, right-hander Brock Stewart, along with reserve outfielder Alex Call. The approach showed confidence in the arms the Dodgers have coming back, especially in the bullpen. But Scott and Yates, their two big offseason signings, have combined for a 4.21 ERA this season. Right-hander Kopech, meanwhile, has appeared in just eight games. They’ll have a lot to prove.
Expected return date: Optimism around Meadows emerged on Monday, with some light running in the outfield — a subtle sign he is progressing once again toward a rehab assignment. Meadows, 25, missed the first two months of the season with inflammation in his upper right arm that he later learned was a product of issues with his musculocutaneous nerve. He spent most of June and July in the lineup, then landed on the injured list once more, this time because of a right quad strain. The hope is that he can be back playing center field before the end of August.
What he means to the team: Meadows accumulated 11 outs above average in center field from 2023 to 2024 despite playing in only 119 games. In that stretch, he also stole 17 bases, provided a .729 OPS — with fairly even splits against lefties and righties — and accumulated 3.1 FanGraphs wins above replacement. As the Tigers march toward their first division title in 11 years and vie for a first-round bye, they find themselves longing for Meadows in several ways. The hope is that he’ll be a much better hitter than he showed earlier this season, when he slashed .200/.270/.296 in 137 plate appearances.
Expected return date: Megill has been absent from the Mets’ rotation since the middle of June because of a right elbow sprain but threw 20 pitches in a simulated game at Citi Field on Sunday. He is expected to extend to two innings in another session on Thursday. A rehab assignment will follow shortly thereafter, putting Megill on track to potentially rejoin the Mets’ rotation later this month. Megill was solid before going down, posting a 3.95 ERA in 14 starts, and the Mets’ rotation could really use some of that right now.
What he means to the team: When Megill got hurt on June 14, the Mets’ rotation easily led the majors with a 2.82 ERA. Since then, the group has posted a 5.12 ERA, ranked 26th. Lately, it has only gotten worse. The Mets have lost eight of their past nine games, and in that stretch, the starters have allowed 34 runs (32 earned) in 43⅔ innings. Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes and Kodai Senga have all had their struggles, to varying degrees, of late. And though Megill certainly can’t fix that alone, another capable starter would certainly be welcomed.
Expected return date: Miller, limited to just 10 starts this season, cruised through his first rehab start on Friday, tossing four scoreless innings, and is scheduled to stretch to five innings on Thursday. Given that he has gone on the IL because of right elbow inflammation twice this year, requiring a cortisone shot and a platelet-rich plasma injection, the Mariners will play it safe — Miller will make two more rehab starts before being activated. Robles dislocated his left shoulder while making an incredible catch in San Francisco on April 6 and is way ahead of schedule. He’s expected to begin a rehab assignment next week and could return before the end of August.
What they mean to the team: Robles is the Mariners’ leadoff hitter and spark plug. Over a 77-game stretch after Seattle signed him as a free agent last summer, he slashed .328/.393/.467. And if he can produce something close to that, a Mariners offense that added Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez before the trade deadline and has received a dominant season from Cal Raleigh will be as deep as it has been since Jerry Dipoto took over baseball operations 10 years ago. The Mariners haven’t received as much from their rotation as they would have expected this year, but a staff of Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, Bryan Woo, George Kirby and Miller — 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA while healthy last year — still rivals the best in the game.
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