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The 2024 NHL offseason is off to a wild start. Just four days after the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup, an epic 2024 NHL draft took place at Sphere in Las Vegas, including several big trades along with 225 prospects finding new homes.

Now it’s time for the league’s 32 front offices to add to their rosters via free agency.

Here is our continuously updated tracker, featuring a list of every player signed, along with analysis of the biggest deals and buzz on what could happen next.

Note that the newest deals are on top, denoted by date.

More: Signing grades
Team grades
Draft recap: Team grades
Winners, losers

Aug. 13

The Blues have waded into the offer sheet waters, signing Oilers forward Dylan Holloway (two years, $4.58 million) and defenseman Philip Broberg (two years, $9.16 million). The Oilers have seven days to match the contracts, or will accept a draft pick from the Blues for each.


Bolstering their goaltending depth, the Stars have agreed to terms with 33-year-old netminder Magnus Hellberg on a one-year contract.


Aug. 12

Restricted free agent forward Nolan Foote is returning to New Jersey, via a one-year, $825,000 deal with the Devils.


Aug. 5

Veteran free agent defenseman Oliver Kylington is making a move in the Western Conference, signing a one-year, $1.05 million deal with the Avalanche.


July 31

The Canadiens secured a key player for their future, agreeing to terms on a six-year, $33.3 million deal with RFA defenseman Kaiden Guhle.


July 30

Defenseman Ryan Lindgren and his Rangers got the best of brother Charlie and the Capitals in the 2024 playoffs. Now, he’ll be back for at least one more year, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $4.5 million deal.


At one point in the future, Dustin Wolf will the the Flames’ No. 1 goalie, and the team has extended his current tenure with the team via a two-year, $1.7 million deal.


July 29

After much speculation that the Hurricanes would trade his rights, restricted free agent forward Martin Necas will continue his career in Carolina via a two-year, $13 million deal.


July 28

Two RFA deals in two days! The Blue Jackets made it official with forward Kirill Marchenko, agreeing to terms on a three-year, $11.55 million pact.


July 27

Kent Johnson will be sticking around in Columbus for a while longer. The RFA forward has inked a three-year, $5.4 million contract with the Blue Jackets.


July 25

The Islanders will continue to employ Oliver Wahlstrom, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $1 million deal with the RFA forward.


July 24

The Sabres believe in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, as they have signed the restricted free agent goaltender to a five-year, $23.75 million contract.


July 23

The Maple Leafs liked what they saw out of Connor Dewar after acquiring him at the trade deadline, inking him to a one-year, $1.18 million deal.


July 20

Veteran forward Daniel Sprong has ended his exploration of the market, agreeing to a one-year, $975,000 contract with the Canucks.


Restricted free agent forward Joe Veleno is sticking with the Red Wings, signing a deal for two years, $4.55 million.


July 18

Restricted free agent forward Jack Drury is sticking around in Carolina, agreeing to terms on a two-year, $3.45 million pact with the Canes.


July 16

The Canucks liked what they saw out of Arturs Silovs during their playoff run this past spring, and are bringing the RFA netminder back via a two-year contract.


July 15

The No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, Quinton Byfield has signed his second NHL contract, agreeing to terms on a five-year, $31.25 million deal with the Kings.


Restricted free-agent goaltender Mads Sogaard is back with the Senators by way of a two-year, $1.55 million pact.


July 13

The Rangers will continue their business relationship with defenseman Braden Schneider, inking him to a two-year, $4.4 million contract.


Goaltender Jet Greaves will remain with the Blue Jackets, as the restricted free agent goaltender is back via a two-year, $1.63 million deal.


July 12

The Rangers liked what they saw out of Chad Ruhwedel after landing him at the trade deadline, and he’s back for another year via a $775,000 contract.


July 11

After acquiring J.J. Moser as part of the Mikhail Sergachev trade, the Lightning have officially brought him into the mix, inking a two-year, $6.75 million deal.


July 10

The Blues add another veteran defenseman to their blue-line group, agreeing to a one-year, $775,000 deal with Ryan Suter.


July 9

Another young defenseman has landed in South Florida, as Adam Boqvist is signing a one-year deal with the Cup champion Panthers.


July 8

Restricted free agent forward Barrett Hayton is joining the Utah Hockey Club by way of a two-year, $5.3 million contract.


July 7

They’re building something in Philly, and RFA defenseman Egor Zamula will be back in the picture to be a part of it. He has agreed to a two-year, $3.4 million deal.


July 6

Logan Stanley isn’t getting away that easily! The Jets have re-signed the restricted free agent defenseman to a two-year, $2.5 million deal.


July 5

Defenseman Henri Jokiharju is back with the Sabres, agreeing to terms n a one-year, $3.1 million contract.


July 4

Veteran forward Jack Roslovic finished out the 2023-24 campaign with the Rangers, but he’ll start the 2024-25 season with the Hurricanes after agreeing to a one-year, $2.8 million contract.


July 3

The Jets announced a pair of one-year, $775,000 deals for unrestricted free agents: defenseman Haydn Fleury and forward Mason Shaw.


Fresh off a run with the Stanley Cup champion Panthers, veteran scoring winger Vladimir Tarasenko is moving on to the Red Wings, inking a two-year, $9.5 million deal.


The Panthers had great results from signing a defenseman who had had his contract bought out last offseason, as Oliver Ekman-Larsson was a key part of their defensive group en route to the Stanley Cup. They’ll hope for more of the same after adding Nate Schmidt, who was bought out by the Jets this summer. It’s a one-year, $800,000 deal.


Veteran defenseman Jack Johnson has ended his free agency exploration, inking a one-year, $775,000 deal with the Blue Jackets.


After his brother Mathieu was traded to the Blues on Tuesday, Pierre-Olivier Joseph has signed there as a free agent, agreeing to a one-year, $950,000 contract.


July 2

Veteran forward Tyler Motte has been on some high-achieving teams in recent years, and he’ll be on a team with big aspirations this season, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $800,000 pact with the Red Wings.


After having his contract bought out by the Flyers, 35-year-old forward Cam Atkinson is joining the Lightning via a one-year, $900,000 contract.


The prodigal Tuna has returned! Veteran forward Tomas Tatar is headed back to New Jersey, inking a one-year, $1.8 million contract.


Veteran forward Victor Olofsson has landed with the Golden Knights, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $1.07 million contract.


Defenseman Sebastian Aho is staying in the Metropolitan Division, inking a two-year, $1.55 million deal with the Penguins.


After his time with the Senators came to an end, defenseman Erik Brannstrom is joining the Avalanche by way of a one-year, $900,000 deal.


After swinging a deal for Reilly Smith on Monday, the Rangers inked a pair of UFAs on Tuesday morning: forward Bo Groulx (one year) and defenseman Casey Fitzgerald (two years).


The Hockey Club continues to add players this summer, inking a two-year agreement with 33-year-old forward Andrew Agozzino.


The Lightning said goodbye to Steven Stamkos on Monday, but locked in Victor Hedman with a four-year, $32 million contract extension on Tuesday. In addition, they inked RFA defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg to a two-year, $1.6 million deal.


The Sabres have added to their goaltending depth, signing veteran James Reimer to a one-year, $1 million contract.

July 1

The goalie carousel continues to spin in Vegas. After trading Logan Thompson to the Caps and adding Akira Schmid in a deal with the Devils, they are adding Ilya Samsonov via a one-year, $1.8 million contract.


After finishing out the 2023-24 season with the Maple Leafs, 34-year-old defenseman T.J. Brodie joined the parade of veterans signing with the Blackhawks, via a two-year, $7.5 million deal.


The Oilers added a proven scorer by inking Jeff Skinner to a one-year, $3 million deal following his buyout by the Sabres. They also re-signed playoff hero Mattias Janmark to a three-year, $4.35 million deal, and trade deadline acquisition Adam Henrique to a two-year, $6 million contract.

Grade for the deal


Lots of turnover in the Carolina back end this offseason, but it added a good one in 29-year-old Sean Walker, agreeing to a five-year, $18 million deal.


The Sharks continue to make wise veteran additions to their young roster, inking a two-year, $10 million deal with center Alex Wennberg.


Dallas continues its spending spree on veteran defenseman, re-signing Nils Lundkvist for one year, $1.25 million.


The NHL playing career will continue for Corey Perry, as the veteran is re-signing with the Oilers for one year, $1.4 million.


The Kings have added some size and snarl to their defense corps, inking veteran Joel Edmundson to a four-year, $15.4 million deal.


The Avalanche add to their depth on the blue line, agreeing to terms with veteran defenseman Calvin de Haan on a one-year, $800,000 deal.


Forward Anthony Beauvillier has been well-traveled the past few seasons, and he’s off to a new team again for 2024-25, inking a one-year, $1.25 million deal with the Penguins.


Goaltender Jack Campbell‘s massive deal with the Oilers didn’t work out so well, and he has moved on to the Red Wings, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $775,000 contract.


The Capitals continue adding to their roster, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $1 million deal with forward Taylor Raddysh.


Another veteran defenseman has landed in Dallas: Ilya Lyubushkin is signing a two-year, $6.5 million contract with the Stars.


The Islanders have finally entered the chat! Defenseman Mike Reilly is coming back on a one-year contract, while forward Anthony Duclair is heading back to the Metropolitan Division by way of a four-year, $14 million deal.

Deal details


The Red Wings add to their blue-line group with former Rangers defenseman Erik Gustafsson, agreeing to a two-year, $4 million deal.


After finishing the 2023-24 season with the Lightning, veteran defenseman Matt Dumba is headed to the Stars by way of a two-year, $7.5 million deal. And after skating for the Devils this past season, fellow blueliner Brendan Smith is also headed to Dallas, by way of a one-year, $1 million deal.


Sam Steel is returning to the Stars, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $1.2 million contract with Dallas.


Veteran agitator Garnet Hathaway will stick with the Flyers by way of a two-year, $4.8 million extension.


Another Stanley Cup champ is leaving the Panthers, as Ryan Lomberg is signing a two-year, $4 million deal with the Flames.


Former Golden Knight forward Chandler Stephenson is heading up to Seattle, inking a seven-year, $43.75 million contract with the Kraken.

Grade for the deal


It’s a move that won’t get as much attention as signing Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei, but the Predators made an addition to their goaltending group, signing Scott Wedgewood to a two-year, $3 million deal.


The Stars have found their backup for Jake Oettinger, agreeing to terms with Casey DeSmith on a one-year, $3 million contract.


After a run to the Stanley Cup Final with the Oilers, forward Warren Foegele is heading to L.A., inking a three-year, $10.5 million deal with the Kings.


Veteran defenseman Matt Grzelcyk will not be patrolling the blue line for the Bruins; instead, he’s signing a one-year, $2.75 million deal with the Penguins.


After plying his trade for the Hurricanes in recent seasons, Stefan Noesen is headed back to the Devils, agreeing to a three-year, $8.25 million deal.


The Stars are staying in the Matt Duchene business, inking a one-year, $3 million extension with the veteran forward.


A key depth forward for the Golden Knights the past two seasons, Michael Amadio is joining the Senators by way of a three-year, $7.8 million contract.


Jonathan Drouin experienced a renaissance with the Avalanche in 2023-24, and he’ll keep it going for at least one more season, inking a one-year, $2.5 million deal.


Yet another former Bruin heading to Vancouver, as Danton Heinen is joining the Canucks via a two-year, $4.5 million contract.


Veteran goaltender Matt Murray will be back with the Maple Leafs for 2024-25, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $875,000 pact.


It was a tale of two seasons for Cam Talbot in 2023-24, as a great start gave way to a rough finish. He’ll hope for a consistently strong campaign with the Red Wings, after agreeing to a two-year, $5 million deal.


Former Bruin Jake DeBrusk has landed in Vancouver, inking a seven-year, $38.5 million deal with the Canucks.

Deal details | Grade for the deal


In need of some veteran help down the middle, the Blue Jackets are signing Sean Monahan to a five-year, $27.5 million deal.

Grade for the deal


The Capitals continue to build around the edges, inking Brandon Duhaime to a two-year, $3.7 million contract.


After winning the Stanley Cup with the Panthers, forward Kevin Stenlund is headed to the Hockey Club via a two-year, $4 million deal.


Defenseman William Carrier is signing with the Hurricanes, agreeing to terms on a six-year, $12 million contract.


Veteran forward Kiefer Sherwood is headed to Vancouver, coming to terms on a two-year, $3 million deal with the Canucks.


The Hurricanes lost some defensemen in free agency, but they’re keeping a pretty important one for the foreseeable future, agreeing to an eight-year, $51.69 million extension for Jaccob Slavin.


After re-signing Joseph Woll this offseason, the Maple Leafs added a veteran option in Anthony Stolarz via a two-year, $5 million pact.


The Minnesota Wild are on the board, inking forward Yakov Trenin to a four-year, $14 million contract.


Veteran defenseman Nikita Zadorov has landed in Boston by way of a six-year, $30 million contract with the Bruins.

Deal details | Grade for the deal


The Oilers have boosted their forward depth for the next two seasons, inking Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year, $8 million deal.

Deal details


The Sabres add a veteran scoring winger in Jason Zucker, agreeing to a one-year, $5 million pact.


Another veteran defenseman is joining the Devils, as Brenden Dillon has agreed to a three-year, $12 million contract with New Jersey.


The Flames have brought back one of their own — Yegor Sharangovich for five years, $28.75 million — and an external free agent as well, in Anthony Mantha (one year, $3.5 million).


Former Stanley Cup champion David Perron will continue his NHL career with the Senators, agreeing to a two-year, $4 million contract.


Yet another veteran defenseman is headed to Utah, as Ian Cole is signing a one-year, $3.1 million deal with the Hockey Club.


The Bruins added a major boost to the center position, inking Elias Lindholm to a seven-year, $54.25 million contract.

Deal details | Grade for the deal


The Predators have entered the chat, inking deals with three of the top free agents on the market:

Deal details | Grades for all three deals


Veteran scoring winger Tyler Toffoli is headed back to California, signing a four-year, $24 million deal with the Sharks.

Deal details | Grade for the deal


Fresh off winning the Stanley Cup, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has signed a four-year, $14 million contract with the Maple Leafs.


Veteran netminder Eric Comrie is back with the Jets, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $825,000 contract.


The Blackhawks are focused on surrounding Connor Bedard with some veteran help, adding Tyler Bertuzzi (four years, $22 million), Teuvo Teravainen (three-years, $16.2 million), Pat Maroon (one-year, $1.3 million), Alec Martinez (one year, $4 million) and Craig Smith (one-year, $1 million).

Deal details | Grade for the deal


After trading for Jakob Chychrun, the Capitals continued adding to their blue line, signing Matt Roy to a seven-year, $38.5 million contract.

Deal details | Grade for the deal


The Kraken have landed one of the top free agents on the market, inking a seven-year, $50 million deal with defenseman Brandon Montour.

Deal details | Grade for the deal


Forward Sam Lafferty, 29, is headed to Buffalo, inking a two-year, $4 million contract with the Sabres.


Rugged forward Jordan Martinook will not be leaving Carolina, signing a three-year, $9.15 million deal with the Hurricanes.


The Devils have added a critical player to their blue-line group, signing former Hurricanes blueliner Brett Pesce to a six-year, $33 million contract.

Deal details | Grade for the deal


Veteran forward Kasperi Kapanen is re-signing with the Blues, inking a one-year, $1 million deal to stay in St. Louis.


Restricted free agent forward Connor McMichael has extended his business relationship with the Capitals, inking a two-year, $4.20 million pact.


Erik Johnson played 67 games for the Flyers in 2023-24, and he’ll play some more in 2024-25, given his new one-year, $1 million deal with the club.


The Maple Leafs traded for an exclusive negotiating window with veteran defenseman Chris Tanev, and consummated that relationship on Monday via a six-year, $27 million contract. The team also finally confirmed the new deal for RFA netminder Joseph Woll (three years, $10.98 million).

Deal details | Grade for the deal


The Panthers agreed to terms on an eight-year, $69 million deal with forward Sam Reinhart.

Deal details | Grade for the deal


After trading a 2025 third-round draft pick for Jake Guentzel‘s negotiating rights, the Lightning have sealed the deal with the forward on a seven-year, $63 million contract.

Deal details | Grade for the deal

June 30

Veteran forward Patrick Kane is back with the Red Wings, inking a one-year, $4 million contract.

Deal details


Restricted free agent center Isac Lundestrom has re-signed with the Ducks, inking a one-year, $1.5 million deal.


The Utah Hockey Club continues to work on its blue line, re-signing RFA Sean Durzi to a four-year, $24 million contract.


In need of a boost on the blue line this summer, the Maple Leafs will start with one of their own, re-signing RFA Timothy Liljegren to a two-year, $6 million contract.

Deal details


Veteran forward Max Domi will not be exploring the market, as he returns to the Maple Leafs via a four-year, $15 million deal.

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

Hard-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski is a National League All-Star replacement, giving the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander a chance to break Paul Skenes‘ record for the fewest big league appearances before playing in the Midsummer Classic.

Misiorowski was named Friday night to replace Chicago Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, who will be unavailable for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta because he is scheduled to start Saturday at the New York Yankees.

The 23-year-old Misiorowski has made just five starts for the Brewers, going 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA while averaging 99.3 mph on his fastball, with 89 pitches that have reached 100 mph.

If he pitches at Truist Park, Misiorowski will make it consecutive years for a player to set the mark for fewest big league games before an All-Star showing.

Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander getting ready for his second All-Star appearance, had made 11 starts in the majors when he was chosen as the NL starter for last year’s All-Star Game at Texas. He pitched a scoreless inning.

“I’m speechless,” said a teary-eyed Misiorowski, who said he was given the news a few minutes before the Brewers’ 8-3 victory over Washington. “It’s awesome. It’s very unexpected and it’s an honor.”

Misiorowski is the 30th first-time All-Star and 16th replacement this year. There are now 80 total All-Stars.

“He’s impressive. He’s got some of the best stuff in the game right now, even though he’s a young pitcher,” said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who is a starting AL outfielder for his seventh All-Star nod. “He’s going to be a special pitcher in this game for a long time so I think he deserved it and it’s going be pretty cool for him and his family.”

Carlos Rodón, Carlos Estévez and Casey Mize were named replacement pitchers on the AL roster.

The New York Yankees‘ Rodón, an All-Star for the third time in five seasons, will replace teammate Max Fried for Tuesday’s game in Atlanta. Fried will be unavailable because he is scheduled to start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

In his final start before the All-Star game, Rodón allowed four hits and struck out eight in eight innings in an 11-0 victory over the Cubs.

“This one’s a little special for me,” said Rodón, an All-Star in 2021 and ’22 who was 3-8 in his first season with the Yankees two years ago before rebounding. “I wasn’t good when I first got here, and I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t to going to give up and just put my best foot forward and try to win as many games as I can.”

The Kansas City Royals‘ Estévez replaces Texas’ Jacob deGrom, who is scheduled to start at Houston on Saturday night. Estévez was a 2023 All-Star when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.

Mize takes the spot held by Boston‘s Garrett Crochet, who is scheduled to start Saturday against Tampa Bay. Mize gives the Tigers six All-Stars, most of any team and tied for the franchise record.

Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia will replace Tampa Bay‘s Brandon Lowe, who went on the injured list with left oblique tightness. The additions of Estévez and Garcia give the Royals four All-Stars, matching their 2024 total.

The Seattle Mariners announced center fielder Julio Rodríguez will not participate, and he was replaced by teammate Randy Arozarena. Rodríguez had been voted onto the AL roster via the players’ ballot. The Mariners, who have five All-Stars, said Rodríguez will use the break to “recuperate, rest and prepare for the second half.”

Arozarena is an All-Star for the second time. He started in left field for the AL two years ago, when he was with Tampa Bay. Arozarena was the runner-up to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the 2023 Home Run Derby.

Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, a first-time All-Star, is replacing Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who is scheduled to start Saturday night at Arizona. Rasmussen is 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA in 18 starts.

San Diego added a third NL All-Star reliever in lefty Adrián Morejón, who replaces Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler. The Phillies’ right-hander is scheduled to start at San Diego on Saturday night. Morejón entered the weekend with a 1.71 ERA in 45 appearances.

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Midseason grades for all 30 MLB teams: ‘A’ is for Astros, ‘F’ is for …?

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Midseason grades for all 30 MLB teams: 'A' is for Astros, 'F' is for ...?

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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White Sox unveil Buehrle statue: ‘Well-deserved’

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White Sox unveil Buehrle statue: 'Well-deserved'

CHICAGO — Former White Sox lefty Mark Buehrle was forever immortalized inside Rate Field as the team unveiled a statue in his honor Friday.

Buehrle, 46, played 16 years in the majors, including the first 12 with the White Sox, who he helped win a World Series in 2005. He won 214 games and pitched 200 innings or more in 14 consecutive seasons from 2001 to 2014.

“I can’t put it into words,” Buehrle said after the unveiling. “You don’t play the game for any of this. You never think of number retirements or statues. I can’t even wrap my head around it. It doesn’t make sense.”

The statue is an action shot of him throwing a pitch.

His wife and kids were in attendance and helped pull off the cover to unveil the statue while his 2005 teammates looked on. The event kicked off a weekend reunion for the World Series team which went 11-1 in the postseason, beating the Houston Astros in four games to take home the title.

Buehrle was a five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, finishing fifth in Cy Young voting in 2005.

“Well-deserved,” former right fielder Jermaine Dye said of the statue. “Great teammate. Great leader. Definitely someone you want on a ballclub to lead a pitching staff.”

The White Sox rotation — led by Buehrle — threw four complete games in the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox in 2005, missing a fifth complete game by two-thirds of an inning. It’s an unheard of accomplishment in today’s game since starters infrequently go the distance.

Besides being an innings-eater on the mound, Buehrle was a fast worker — a favorite trait of his catcher, A.J Pierzynski. And he wasn’t someone who threw a lot of different pitches. He caught it and threw it without much input from behind the plate.

“He was fast,” Pierzynski said. “We had Jermaine Dye calling pitches from right field some games. We did come crazy things you wouldn’t recommend to people to do nowadays.”

Buehrle is a notoriously low-key guy who hates the spotlight but even he was moved by the team’s decision to honor him with a statue, which joins former slugger Harold Baines in the right-field concourse.

“I joked with him when I saw him,” Dye said. “I told him ‘Man it takes you getting a statue to get you out of the house.'”

Buehrle added: “I was literally nervous as can be today. This is not my comfort zone but by no means am I taking it lightly. This is incredible.”

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