Connect with us

Published

9 months ago

on

  • Paolo Uggetti, ESPNOct 25, 2024, 07:00 AM ET

BOISE, Idaho — On a gloomy October morning, Boise State‘s Albertsons Stadium was nearly empty but full of action. There were a few scattered donors among the grandstands and a handful of NFL scouts dotting the sidelines of the blue turf during this bye-week practice.

All of them want to catch a glimpse of Ashton Jeanty.

It doesn’t take long to see that inside this universe, Jeanty has become the sun. The 2023 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year is no sudden revelation, but the season that the 20-year-old junior running back has put together is turning him into a local phenomenon and a nationwide sensation.

“I did have high hopes for myself,” Jeanty told ESPN. “I had it in my mind that this was going to be a legendary season, but I didn’t know exactly how that was going to unravel.”

The traditional traits and stories that accompany an athlete of Jeanty’s makeup are there. Yes, he’s the humble, down-to-earth star, and wouldn’t you believe that he’s also the first one in the building? Or that he is the one who doesn’t turn down an extra workout even if it’s in the snowy winter and after the season has ended?

There are the superhuman tales of his strength that follow him, too. The 320-pound bench press? That’s Jeanty. A 300-pound power clean? Jeanty. The 600-pound squat?

“He once did 605 like it was nothing and he had to be cut off,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said. “He lifts with the offensive linemen.”

Yet any display of strength can often mask Jeanty’s unique speed and agility. During a run this season, he was clocked at over 22 mph. On his way to a nation-leading 1,248 yards and 17 touchdowns, he has outrun some of the fastest defensive backs in the sport and rumbled his way through entire defenses. It’s as if a semitruck could drive like a Ferrari.

“The first guy never brings him down,” Broncos running backs coach James Montgomery said. “Then he puts everybody in slow motion.”

The results have made Jeanty undeniable. Through six games, he’s on pace to break Barry Sanders’ single-season records for rushing yards (2,628) and touchdowns (37). Defenses know he’ll touch the ball over 20 times a game and have sold out to stop him. It hasn’t mattered.

“Domination,” Jeanty said of what he thinks when he runs. “To dominate whoever’s in front of me, to make them quit. And it doesn’t happen on the 10th run, it doesn’t happen on the second run. It’s usually somewhere around the 15th or 20th run.”

During a time in the sport when running backs are no longer as en vogue as they once were, Jeanty feels like a throwback. His particular combination of size, speed and intelligence has allowed Jeanty to turn what could be a monotonous ground game into a blockbuster.

Boise State — ranked No. 17 in the AP poll — has put together a 5-1 season (its only loss being to now-No. 1 Oregon) and forged a path to a College Football Playoff berth ahead of Friday’s game with UNLV. The Broncos have done it behind Jeanty, who has made a handoff one of the most exciting preludes in the sport. Once the ball is cradled against his chest and he takes the first step, anything is possible.

It’s why everyone from Idaho to Italy is watching.

AT 3 A.M. ON a Sunday in September near the seaside town of Naples in southwest Italy, Jim Davis was barely hanging on.

There’s no shortage of espresso in this part of the world to keep the head coach of the Naples Wildcats awake — and trust me, he said, plenty is consumed — but there was something else that had him laid out on his couch instead of his bed, straddling the line between somnambulant and alert.

On the naval support base about 18 miles east of the Tyrrhenian Sea where Davis has coached since 2016, the American Forces Network allows him to tune in to Jeanty’s games. At times, with a time zone difference of anywhere from 8 to 11 hours, Davis has allowed himself to catch replays or highlights after the fact. Lately, Jeanty’s play has made the early wake-up call essential.

“It reminds me of the feeling I had before when he was here, when you know he’s got the potential to score every time he touches the ball,” Davis said.

Jeanty arrived in Italy as a 12-year-old whose father, Harry, was a commanding officer on the naval support base in Aversa, a small town near Naples. In middle school, there was no tackle football team, so Jeanty tried his hand at basketball and track and field and bided his time.

He made the varsity football team as a freshman at Naples High and was thrust into the team’s offense. Davis’ initial reflex was to put Jeanty at quarterback. The experiment didn’t go poorly, but it was short-lived. After two games, Jeanty settled in running back, where Davis’ strategy became simple.

“This kid just needs to touch the ball every down,” Davis said. “He had the speed and power, and he was hungry for more yards. We were restricting him at quarterback. I thought, ‘I could find anybody to just hand the ball off to him.'”

The football season in Naples is short, but the journeys it took Jeanty on were not. A nine-hour bus ride to Aviano in Northeast Italy to play Naples’ closest opponent at an Air Force base there. A flight to Spain, another trip to Brussels and even an 18-hour, multiday trip to Spangdahlem, Germany, where Davis remembers having to ice and treat teammates for injuries on the bus. Some stadiums didn’t even have lights, forcing games to be played in the afternoon in the middle of the hot, humid weather. Despite it all, Jeanty dominated. In one season, he had 1,223 yards on 97 carries (over 12 yards per carry) and totaled 21 touchdowns in just six games.

“I’m trying to remember, did we lose any games?” Jeanty said. “I don’t think we lost any games.”

They were 6-0.

Even at that age, Jeanty was thinking ahead. He would take the footage of games and put together a reel of his best highlights. After his freshman year, he told his parents that he wanted to go back to the States and play football. Davis was neither surprised nor disappointed. He knew Jeanty needed exposure and that, if given the opportunity, he would flourish.

“He didn’t think that he was the best and didn’t need to work hard,” Davis said. “He was the best, but he had that desire to get better.”

Jeanty’s journey continued 5,700 miles west in Frisco, Texas. The staff at Lone Star High School didn’t know much about Jeanty beyond his highlight reel against competition abroad. But any mystery was short lived.

“Once he showed up, obviously, his physical stature, I mean, he’s built like a Greek god,” Lone Star head coach Jeff Rayburn said. “We were like, ‘Alright, I bet you can we can find something for this kid to do.'”

After two seasons of playing him all over the field on both sides of the ball and backing more experienced runners, the backfield became Jeanty’s his senior season.

“We gave him the ball and just got out of the way,” Rayburn said of Jeanty, who had over 2,000 rushing yards, over 1,000 receiving yards and 41 touchdowns that season. “He did everything for us.”

As a three-star who burst onto the scene later than most, Jeanty received offers from only two Power 4 programs — Cal and Kansas. How did a kid from Jacksonsville, who lived in Italy and Texas end up Idaho? Through his recruiting process, Jeanty was not afraid to go anywhere to pursue his dream. In Boise State, he found the right people and the right place to develop. Nowadays, Rayburn likes to joke with the Broncos coaches who visit Lone Star that he did them a favor.

“You’re welcome for not playing him full-time at running back his junior year,” Rayburn tells them. “He would have been a national recruit.”

Rayburn claims he has not been surprised by Jeanty. In fact, before this season began, he asked his former player for one thing in advance: “Just make sure when you go to New York [for the Heisman], you get me an invite to go out there with you.”

THE VISITING COACHES’ booth atop Autzen Stadium is where Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter could see what Danielson wasn’t able to just yet.

Jeanty had broken through the Ducks’ defensive line and found daylight on the other side. Ten yards ahead, a lone safety awaited. Danielson thought Jeanty would be tackled. From above, Koetter saw it differently.

“It’s out,” Danielson remembered hearing Koetter say through the headset. Sure enough, Jeanty made a cut toward the right sideline, and everyone was left staring at the back of his jersey.

Throughout this season, the Broncos’ coaching staff, from their various vantage points, have tried their best to identify the exact moment when they realize that Jeanty’s runs will turn into a breakaway touchdown. Koetter’s bird’s-eye view makes him particularly well positioned to make the call. But from the sideline, Danielson and Montgomery have enjoyed the feeling of experiencing a Jeanty breakthrough with the entire team.

Sometimes, Danielson said, Jeanty’s explosiveness through the line of scrimmage has made him call his shot early. Other times, such as against Washington State, they have thought the play was over, that Jeanty was tackled, only to find that he remained upright and was running all the way to the end zone.

The way in which Jeanty has traversed the field has varied, but the results haven’t. Give him the ball, and he’ll make magic.

“We use him as a decoy. We hand him the ball, we fake it to him,” Koetter said. “I mean, he’s the centerpiece of our offense. We don’t try to hide that.”

Even as a freshman who enrolled early as a 17-year-old in 2021, Jeanty showed flashes.

“You could tell he was going to be good,” Koetter, who was an offensive analyst and eventually interim offensive coordinator in 2022, said. “But the best player in the country? Maybe not.”

Montgomery saw it coming perhaps more than most. The Broncos’ running backs coach had seen Jeanty’s progression from his freshman season through last year, when he split carries with George Holani. Jeanty was “fanatical about getting better at every aspect of the game.”

And once the team began practices for this season, Montgomery was blown away. Jeanty’s work ethic and effort have been high since his days playing for Davis in Naples or in Texas for Rayburn, who said Jeanty “only knew one speed.” This, however, was on another level.

“He came out like an animal. He was practicing hard,” he said. “Every single rep, didn’t matter what the drill was, special teams, offense. And then we got to the first scrimmage, and we’re like, ‘Nah, we better tone it back a little bit.'”

Even though they dialed back the intensity, it only increased the anticipation. Montgomery knew everyone was awaiting what Jeanty would do in the season opener.

Jeanty didn’t disappoint. He broke the school record for most rushing yards in a game and found the end zone six times. From there, he was off and running. He has now had three games of at least 200 rushing yards and four games of three or more touchdowns.

“I always say we’re chasing perfection, so that’s what we’re chasing with him,” Montgomery said. “But he’s played as close as you can get to perfect this year. “

There’s an alternate reality where Jeanty’s perfect season happens while he is wearing a different jersey. Once last season ended, the phone calls to Jeanty and his family from coaches came in droves telling them Jeanty should enter the transfer portal and play for a bigger program on a bigger stage.

Danielson, who was thrust into the interim head-coaching position last season after the Boise State fired Andy Avalos, knew what his first move needed to be once he was hired as the permanent head coach.

“Keeping him was such a huge priority for us,” Danielson said. “Beyond what he does on the field, he’s a culture changer, he’s a culture igniter.”

Jeanty didn’t want to leave. His teammates and coaches knew he could have gone anywhere, but after a single meeting between Danielson, Boise athletic director Jeramiah Dickey, Jeanty and his dad in which they outlined Jeanty’s role as well as the name, image and likeness opportunities and support the school would offer, Jeanty didn’t hesitate.

“I knew in the back of my head I was never going to leave,” Jeanty said while adding that the money was never his top priority. There are reports that Jeanty received a base compensation package of $300,000 to stay. One industry source familiar with the NIL market said Jeanty could have gotten upward of $750,000 had he opted to leave.

“Now did some of those calls about this money and this and that sound good? They sure did,” Jeanty said. “I mean, to any 19-year-old, those things would sound good. But just realizing your values and priorities was also sounding good, too. And those thoughts were stronger than the others. Doing this here means more than anything you could get somewhere else.”

MOST OF US will never know what it’s like to run 70 yards for a touchdown while barreling through linebackers and speeding past cornerbacks. Even Jeanty’s own teammates can only draft off the feeling from their respective positions.

Quarterback Maddux Madsen relishes having “the best seat in the house” to watch the Jeanty show. Once he hands the ball off, he watches the play develop in front of him and stands back in awe.

“As soon as he gets past the first level and second level, I’m just like, all right, I probably could realistically just walk to the sideline,” Madsen said. “It’d be totally fine.”

Wide receiver Latrell Caples can never truly see the play in real time. While focused on blocking, he often has to rely on the video board or the highlight reels postgame to fully appreciate the latest offering from Jeanty.

“I’ve never seen anybody do the stuff he does at practice, let alone the game,” Caples said.

Defensive end Ahmed Hassanein joked that while he enjoys watching Jeanty dominate from the sideline, it also means that the defense has to go back out on the field sooner.

“Somebody needs to stop him, because I need a break on the sideline,” Hassanein joked. “One attempt, and he already scores, so I’m like, ‘Damn, that’s good, but give me some time. I need a breather.”

Jeanty’s roommate, safety Zion Washington, has a unique perspective, too. As a defender, he has seen firsthand how hard it is to contain him.

“I would hate to play against him in a game,” Washington said. “The things he does is just different — you don’t see them from a regular back.”

Washington, a high school friend of Jeanty’s, has seen the running back go from a confident, quiet kid to the center of attention. The guy who often asks Washington to keep the apartment clean and trash-talks during video games is also the one who now makes their Sunday church trips longer. Everyone there wants to talk to him or take a picture.

“It is hard sometimes to see all the positivity around me, all the attention,” Jeanty said. “I’m not really a guy that wants attention. If you ask anybody about me, I’m chill. I’m an out-the-way type of guy. I don’t really need all the spotlight on me, but it’s cool for what I’m doing to be able to have that.”

A natural byproduct of success on the field is success and fame off it. But Jeanty’s eye-popping runs and stats have brought about a reverence and even an obsession from the college football world and beyond that harkens back to his days in Europe.

“I remember being in Belgium, that was an international school we played, and it was funny how many parents and moms came up to him from the opposing team wanting to take pictures,” Davis said. “They were like, ‘You’re going to be famous one day.'”

Now, he is.

His teammates don’t let him forget that he’s just one of them even if they can’t go anywhere on their phones without seeing praise being heaped on their friend.

“I’m scrolling through my phone. Everything’s Ashton. Everything’s Ashton,” Washington said. “One day we were just chilling and Kevin Durant followed him. He was like, ‘KD just followed.’ We’re like, ‘What?’ That’s not normal. We go through things like that. It’s just like, that’s crazy. But it doesn’t faze him.”

For Washington, it’s validating to witness it all happen after he was part of the conversations aimed at keeping Jeanty in Bronco colors. Now, his guy — their guy — has the potential to be the first Group of 5 Heisman winner since BYU’s Ty Detmer in 1990 and the sixth first-round draft selection from Boise State. For some, it might be too early to start thinking about how they will be remembered. Not Jeanty. He has made the Heisman and the NFL his long-term goals, and he has already launched a football scholarship in his name for future players.

“We told him, ‘You can do something that no one’s ever done,'” Washington said. “‘You could do things out here in this city where you’ve already been accomplishing big goals that no one has ever, ever done. You could break records here and win the Heisman here. That’s a legacy.'”

WHEN IT COMES to one of his iconic runs, no one has the vantage point that Jeanty does. So after a recent Boise State practice, I asked Jeanty to put me there — inside his helmet, yes — but more importantly inside his brain as he takes the ball and launches into one of these runs that are a staple of his highlight reels.

Of course, Jeanty quickly points out that I have gotten ahead of myself. It does not begin when the ball touches his hands but rather well before the ball is even snapped. His stance, which he notes that some people have joked about because of its stoic posture, is part of the method to his madness.

“I’m just back there relaxed,” Jeanty said. “I’m just analyzing the defense, I’m seeing what type of front we’re getting, the linebacker placement, not too worried about the corners, but really the safeties to see the shell of the coverage and see what we’re running against.”

In the span of less than a minute, Jeanty is analyzing which defenders he’ll likely have to run through and which he’ll have to make miss, as well as how the run might affect the defensive line based on their placement. Each run has a key and a read on a defender he’ll have to make to determine how it changes “my fit to the run.” The goal, he said, is to be ready to troubleshoot once the play begins.

“If anything goes wrong or they fit it differently than I think they will or whatever it may be, I kind of already analyzed it before so I’m able then to react,” Jeanty said. “And football, especially running back, it is all reaction based after the ball snaps.”

Hear him speak further on the matter and you’ll realize that the way his roommates describe him — “extremely neat” — translates onto the football field. When he’s running downfield, the way he has studied opposing safeties’ movements and tendencies allows him to make an instinct-based but informed view on whether he’ll try to run through them with force or around them with speed.

“That’s the easy part,” Jeanty said. “I feel like people kind of skip past this, but I played defense a lot of my career, so I know what the defensive guys think when he comes downhill to tackle.”

When Jeanty reaches the end zone these days, the feeling is a familiar one. He has experienced it 17 times this season. The records, accolades and praise are nice, he said, but what he’s chasing goes beyond anything tangible and back to the sensation that set him on this path, one he still remembers to this day.

“After I scored my first touchdown [as a running back], I was in sixth grade and it was just a unique feeling,” Jeanty said. “I was like, ‘Man, I got to have this feeling for a while. I got to keep doing this.'”

Whatever happens this season for Boise, bigger things await for Jeanty. An invitation to New York for the Heisman ceremony seems inevitable, and Jeanty is also projected as a top-15 NFL draft pick.

For now, Jeanty is zeroed in on what’s immediately ahead: winning the following game, maximizing another run, overpowering more defenders and reaching the next end zone.

Even if his demeanor might not always show it, Jeanty’s confidence is at an all-time high, and who can blame him?

No one has been able to stop him.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Sports

Most iconic — and chaotic — alternate CFB uniforms of the past 25 years

Published

4 hours ago

on

July 27, 2025

By

Most iconic -- and chaotic -- alternate CFB uniforms of the past 25 years

Jul 26, 2025, 11:05 AM ET

Some have had a few. Some have had many. The Oregon Ducks seemingly come up with a new one every week.

The topic is, of course, alternate uniforms. The best of the best have become beloved staples of the fall calendar for college football fans. Just as many, though, have been relegated to the dustbin of history (or at least a campus storage closet). A vaunted few have risen to an even higher tier: cult classic.

With the 2025 college football season approaching, we decided to run through the extensive catalog of alternate uniform offerings in the sport since 2000 and parse through it all to determine some of the most memorable — for better or for worse.

We broke our superlatives list down into a number of categories — three broad, three specific, each with multiple nominations, and six exclusive awards. Some of these categories reward aesthetic beauty. More prefer just plain zaniness.

Here are the best, worst and wildest of alternate uniforms from the past 25 years.

Best in show

In the nominations for our best of the best, we covered a wide range of topical ground. From distinct colors to well-executed throwbacks, our five picks offer an array of different ways to make an alternate uniform pop.

Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors: Retro and rainbow, 2015

Florida International Panthers: Miami Vice, 2024

Houston Cougars: Paying homage to the Oilers, 2023

Florida Gators: Simplistic throwback perfection, 2019

SMU Mustangs: Repping Dallas, 2019

Most … ambitious

It’s always encouraging when a team is willing to try something new — creativity and boldness are two traits that help make college football fun. That said, not every outside-the-box alternate uniform idea is created equal. We’re not necessarily saying these uniforms are bad, but they definitely were… enterprising.

Florida Gators: Gator-print, 2017

Michigan State Spartans: Neon green, 2019

Colorado Buffaloes: Throwbacks gone too simplistic, 2009

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Yankee Stadium crossover, 2018

Miami Hurricanes: Orange sleeves, 2005

Craziest helmets

A great — or poor — helmet can make or break a uniform, so we created a separate category for some of the most notable lids. Bonus points were awarded for distinctiveness, regardless of how well-executed.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers: Big Red front and center, 2024

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Honeycomb theme, 2012

Utah Utes: Rose Bowl specials, 2022

Georgia Bulldogs: Georgia tries grey, 2011

Virginia Tech Hokies: The flexing HokieBird, 2012

Most “State-triotic”

A key element of college football is representing a school’s hometown or home state. These three schools went the furthest in going above and beyond to fulfill that mission, incorporating their state’s flag into their alternate uniforms. The aesthetic results were varied.

Maryland Terrapins, 2011

Colorado State Rams, 2017

Texas Tech Red Raiders, 2014

Best from the final frontier

An unlikely source of quality alternate jerseys in recent years? Outer space. In fact, space-themed uniforms produced enough impressive alternates that we deemed it worthy of its own category. Here are the best of the best to have drawn inspiration from the stars.

UCF Knights: Space U, 2023

Purdue Boilermakers: Honoring the school’s astronauts, 2019

Air Force Falcons: Representing the Space Force, 2022

Best tribute

Context matters for uniforms, too. Almost all alternate uniforms represent or honor something, but some threads have particularly special motives. These two alternates have established themselves as particularly distinguished in the backstory category.

Boston College Eagles: The red bandana series

The Eagles have donned uniforms featuring a red bandana pattern and a “FOR WELLES” nameplate once a year since 2014. The uniforms pay homage to Welles Crowther, a Boston College alum who died saving lives in the Sept. 11 attacks while wearing a red bandana.

UAB Blazers: The Children’s Harbor series

A tradition since 2016, UAB has worn special jerseys for select games as part of a partnership with Children’s Harbor, a service center for seriously ill children and their families in Birmingham, Alabama. The Blazers’ Children’s Harbor jerseys feature the names of patients on the back in place of those of players.

Worst trend to never catch on

Block letter jerseys

A very brief but nevertheless unfortunate stint in the pantheon of alternate uniform history was the spurt of designs in the early 2010s featuring jerseys with block letter logos front and center. Of the assorted pitfalls an alternate uniform can hit, these ran the gauntlet.

Changing the aesthetics for the jerseys of teams with classic traditional threads? Check. Unwieldy designs without grounding in a school’s history or tradition? Check. Creating a strange on-screen viewing experience? Check. Blissfully, these never took hold outside of a few Big Ten one-offs.

Lifetime achievement award

Oregon

Undoubtedly the most prolific uniform-producing school, the Ducks put out more uniform combinations in a season than some programs do in a decade. Instead of trying to choose which categories to slot them into — since they’ve produced enough memorable combinations to be involved in just about every option, really — we’re simply giving the Ducks a lifetime achievement award, showcasing a short palette of their range here.

Best alternate uniform reveal series

Notre Dame

While there have been plenty of great alternate uniform reveals, nobody in the game has committed to a bit quite like Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish started in 2022, parodying “The Hangover” to unveil their uniforms for that year’s Shamrock Series game in Las Vegas. They’ve since established the movie parody lane as their niche, riffing “Jerry Maguire” in 2023 and “Wolf of Wall Street” in 2024.

Best consistent yearly alternate uniform matchup

The Army-Navy game

Admittedly, there are not a ton of matchups producing alternate uniform matchups on an annual basis. Or any, for that matter. But it simply wouldn’t be an alternate uniform story without plaudits being given to the level of detail put into Army and Navy’s respective uniforms on a yearly basis for their rivalry game in recent years. So, like Oregon, we’ve created a specific category to highlight some of the best Army-Navy alternate uniform showdowns.

Techs Stick Together unity award

Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech, 2007

It felt right to end this piece with an “alternate” uniform that, while very much not intentional, was certainly memorable. On November 1, 2007, Virginia Tech played a routine road game against Georgia Tech. There was just one issue — some of the Hokies’ jerseys had gone missing. As a result, four Virginia Tech players had to play with the only extra uniforms on hand: Yellow Jacket road jerseys, with new names scrawled on the back and “Georgia Tech” blacked out on the front.

Continue Reading

Sports

Va. Tech probing tampering claim by NC Central

Published

4 hours ago

on

July 27, 2025

By

Va. Tech probing tampering claim by NC Central

  • David HaleJul 26, 2025, 10:54 AM ET

    Close

    • College football reporter.
    • Joined ESPN in 2012.
    • Graduate of the University of Delaware.

At a media event Friday, North Carolina Central coach Trei Oliver was asked about the most ridiculous moments he has faced in coaching, and his response set off alarms across the state of Virginia.

Oliver said he found a Virginia Tech assistant coach on the sideline for one of North Carolina Central’s games last year and suggested the coach was there to lure his star running back, J’Mari Taylor, into the transfer portal.

“Virginia Tech was actually on my sideline recruiting our running back,” Oliver told reporters, according to WRAL News. “That was pretty bold. I couldn’t believe it.”

Oliver didn’t name the running back, but he said the player later transferred to Virginia. Taylor was a first-team all-conference player who is now on Virginia’s roster.

Oliver said he needed assistant coaches to calm him down on the sideline, noting several told him, “He’s just down here visiting.'”

“But I knew what it was,” Oliver said.

Virginia Tech released a statement Saturday saying this was the first time the issue had been raised and that the school would investigate.

“This is the first time the issue has been brought to our attention, and no concern has previously been shared with us through any formal channel,” the team said. “Virginia Tech takes all NCAA rules seriously and is committed to conducting our program with integrity. We are reviewing the matter internally and will address any findings appropriately.”

Taylor, a graduate transfer, will be part of the Virginia backfield rotation this season, and Oliver said he will be rooting for his former player at his new school — particularly when the Cavaliers play Virginia Tech on Nov. 29.

“Thank God he went to UVA,” Oliver said, “and UVA is going to beat the smoke out of them other folks.”

Continue Reading

Sports

MLB trade deadline updates, rumors: Bubble teams could shape week ahead

Published

4 hours ago

on

July 27, 2025

By

MLB trade deadline updates, rumors: Bubble teams could shape week ahead

Jul 27, 2025, 09:20 AM ET

The 2025 MLB trade deadline is just around the corner, with contending teams deciding what they need to add before 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 31.

Could Jarren Duran be on the move from the Boston Red Sox? Will the Arizona Diamondbacks deal Eugenio Suarez and Zac Gallen to contenders? And who among the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies will go all-in to boost their 2025 World Series hopes?

Whether your favorite club is looking to add or deal away — or stands somewhere in between — here’s the freshest intel we’re hearing, reaction to completed deals and what to know for every team as trade season unfolds.

More: Top 50 trade candidates | Passan’s preview | Fantasy spin

Jump to: Completed deals | Latest intel

Completed deal tracker

Yankees make another deal for infield depth

The New York Yankees acquired utility man Amed Rosario from the Washington Nationals in exchange for two minor leaguers. Story »

Royals get outfielder in trade with D-backs

The Kansas City Royals acquired veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-hander Andrew Hoffmann. Story »

Yankees land infielder McMahon in deal with Rockies

The New York Yankees are acquiring third baseman Ryan McMahon in a trade with the Colorado Rockies, sources confirmed to ESPN. Story » | Grades »

Mets get bullpen help from O’s

The New York Mets have acquired left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles, sources confirmed to ESPN. Story » | Grades »

Mariners start trade season with deal for Naylor

The Seattle Mariners have acquired first baseman Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks for left-hander Brandyn Garcia and right-hander Ashton Izzi are headed back to the Arizona Diamondbacks from the Seattle Mariners for first baseman Josh Naylor, sources told ESPN. Story » | Grades »

MLB trade deadline buzz

July 27

Can Mets find an ace at deadline? The market has been very thin in teams offloading, but according to sources, the Mets continue to look around to see whether there’s a match for a starting pitcher capable of taking the ball for a Game 1, Game 2 or Game 3 of a postseason series. Merrill Kelly of the Diamondbacks could be that guy, or maybe it’s Seth Lugo of the Royals, or the Padres’ Dylan Cease. Perhaps it’s one of the two big-time starters who will be under team control beyond this season, the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara or the Twins’ Joe Ryan. The Mets’ rotation was exceptional early in the year, before injuries and natural regression began to take a toll, and the team could use a boost in the front end of this group as they fight the Phillies for NL East supremacy. — Buster Olney

Which way will deadline bubble teams go? The staredown continues as deadline week begins, with perhaps as many as a half-dozen teams waiting to declare their status. “This weekend is big for a lot of teams,” said one evaluator.

The Rays, who appeared to be gathering momentum a month ago, are now just a game over .500, and given the organization’s longstanding focus on maximizing the value of their players, some rival evaluators think they could now be considering dealing some pieces away.

The St. Louis Cardinals are two games over .500, with the industry waiting to see whether they will deal closer Ryan Helsley. The expectation is that they will, given the tough NL playoff landscape. The Tigers could be interested, maybe the Phillies, Mets, Dodgers or Yankees.

The Los Angeles Angels are now five games under .500, and the presumption is that they will eventually move some players before the deadline, but the Angels don’t always operate in the way teams typically do. Taylor Ward has drawn interest from other organizations. — Olney

July 25 updates

Will the Royals trade Lugo — or extend him? Seth Lugo is an intriguing name in the trade market, but rival evaluators don’t sense the Royals are especially motivated to make a deal. Kansas City could also use this moment to explore an extension with Lugo, to keep their deep well of starting pitching intact. — Buster Olney

Angels’ deadline plans coming into focus: Any confusion about whether the Angels will add or subtract ahead of the trade deadline has seemingly cleared up in recent days, with a four-game losing streak that has them five games under .500.

The Angels are telling teams their pending free agents are available, sources with knowledge of the situation said. That includes third baseman Yoan Moncada, utility infielder Luis Rengifo, starting pitcher Tyler Anderson and closer Kenley Jansen. Left fielder Taylor Ward, controllable through 2026, can also be had with the right deal.

The Angels famously never rebuild under owner Arte Moreno and are prone to adding even in times when they seem like long shots to contend — most notably in 2023, when they not only held on to Shohei Ohtani but also traded for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez before collapsing in August.

At this time last year, they tried to move the likes of Anderson and Rengifo but did not believe they would have received enough back to justify holding on to them through the following season. And so it is worth noting: Even if the Angels do decide to punt on 2025, their goal would be to contend again next season.

Any moves they make would probably be geared toward that. By trading away rentals, the Angels will try to use the trade deadline to add accomplished players who can help the team next year. — Alden Gonzalez

What the Astros might be looking for: The Astros’ best fit in a hitter is someone who could play second base or left field, and they can move Jose Altuve accordingly. Per FanGraphs, the Astros have a 94.5% chance to reach the postseason; they lead the Mariners by five games in the AL West. — Buster Olney

How Arizona could shape the trade deadline: The Diamondbacks informed other teams in the past that they would “probably” be dealing away players, but even after trading Josh Naylor to Seattle, it’s unclear just how far Arizona will go. If the D-Backs decided to go all-in on trading veterans, they could reshape their organization significantly, by moving free-agents-to-be Merrill Kelly, Zac Gallen, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and, of course, Eugenio Suarez.

The perception of other front offices is that Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick does not want to completely offload, especially with the Dodgers drifting back toward the pack in the NL West — and as of Thursday night, Suarez wasn’t even officially on the market.

The Diamondbacks, who reached the World Series in 2023 after winning just 84 games during the regular season, won their first three games after the All-Star break, but have subsequently lost three in a row. What some rival evaluators believe is that if the D-Backs keep dealing, it’ll be because of a nudge from the front office. Arizona has been extensively scouting other organizations in preparation. — Buster Olney

White Sox starter drawing interest from contenders: About a half-dozen or more scouts will be in attendance at Rate Field on Friday night when Adrian Houser takes the mound for the White Sox. He has compiled a 1.89 ERA in 10 starts for Chicago after being picked up midseason. Teams don’t believe they’ll have to give up a lot to acquire him, and he could make for a good back-end starter or depth piece for a contender. The White Sox are likely to move him at his peak, and Friday could be the final look for those who are interested. — Jesse Rogers

July 24 updates

Could Mets land this deadline’s top slugger? Eugenio Suarez could be an intriguing option for the Mets as they’ve gotten little production out of Mark Vientos at third base. And if things work out and Suarez wants to stay — and they want him to — he could also provide protection for the Mets at first base in case Pete Alonso moves on next season. The Mets rank 23rd in OPS at third, so why wouldn’t they inquire about Suarez, knowing they can hand the position back to Vientos in 2026 if they wish. — Jesse Rogers

July 23 updates

Houston is in the market for a third baseman: Add the Astros to the list of contenders looking for a third baseman. With All-Star Isaac Paredes expected to miss significant time because of what manager Joe Espada described as a “pretty serious” right hamstring strain, the Astros have begun poking around for available third basemen. One of them is the Rockies’ Ryan McMahon, who also has drawn interest from a few other clubs.

The 30-year-old represents a solid veteran option. McMahon is slashing .217/.314/.403 with 16 home runs, and the metrics indicate he has been one of the top defensive third basemen in the majors this season. He is under contract over the next two seasons for $32 million, so he wouldn’t be just a rental, which should raise the Rockies’ asking price. — Jorge Castillo

A big addition to the available deadline starting pitching options? A surprise name has emerged in the starting pitcher market: Dylan Cease, who will be eligible for free agency at year’s end. Perception of other teams is that the Padres are intent on making a push for the playoffs and would use Cease to help fill other roster needs. Mets, AL East teams, Cubs among teams that have talked about him. — Buster Olney

How Cubs are approaching deadline: The Cubs are looking for a starting pitcher first and foremost, but won’t part with any top prospects for rentals. They would be willing to trade a young hitter for a cost-controlled pitcher or one already under contract past this season. They are desperate to add an arm who can help while Jameson Taillon recovers from a calf injury. Bullpen games in Taillon’s place haven’t gone well. — Jesse Rogers

Will Twins trade top pitchers? Several high-profile teams are in need of bullpen help ahead of the trade deadline — including the Mets, Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers — and the Twins have two of the best available in Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran. The sense is that at least one of them will be traded, but those who are looking for relief help expect the asking price to be very high, partly because both of them are controllable through 2027 and partly because the Twins’ uncertain ownership situation has clouded the approach with those who are not pending free agents.

The Twins are widely expected to trade outfielder Harrison Bader, super-utility player Willi Castro, starter Chris Paddack and lefty reliever Danny Coulombe. But Jax, Duran and young starter Joe Ryan are the ones who would bring back the biggest return. The Twins are said to be listening on everyone. But the team being up for sale since October, and in limbo ever since prospective buyer Justin Ishbia increased his ownership stake in the White Sox in early June, has complicated matters with longer-term players. — Alden Gonzalez

July 22 updates

An Orioles starting pitcher to watch: It seems very likely that Charlie Morton (3.47 ERA last 12 appearances) will be traded, within a relatively thin starting pitching market with a lot of teams looking for rotation help — the Padres, Yankees, maybe the Mets or Astros; a number of teams have expressed interest. In the past, Morton has had a preference to pitch for a team closer to the East Coast and his Florida home, but he doesn’t control that. O’s GM Mike Elias does. — Buster Olney

Will Cleveland deal All-Star outfielder? The player asked about the most on the Guardians’ roster is Steven Kwan, but given that he is two and a half years away from free agency, it’s unlikely he’ll be traded, according to sources. Kwan’s slash line this year: .288/.352/.398. He also has 11 stolen bases and has made consecutive All-Star appearances. — Olney

Braves not looking to move Murphy: Sean Murphy‘s name has been tossed around in trade speculation, but according to sources, he will not be available. Atlanta’s catcher is playing well this year and will be playing under a high-value contract for the next three seasons — $15 million per year from 2026 to 2028, plus a team option in ’29. And the Braves are set up well with the right-handed-hitting Murphy and left-handed-hitting Drake Baldwin perhaps sharing the catching and DH spots into the future. — Olney

Why the 2022 Cy Young winner isn’t the most in-demand Marlins starter: Edward Cabrera has become more coveted than Sandy Alcantara, who teams believe might take an offseason to fix. Alcantara’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is scary low — just 1.9 — and his ERA is 7.14. Cabrera, on the other hand, is striking out more than a batter per inning and his ERA sits at 3.61. The 27-year-old right-hander will come at a heavy cost for opposing teams. — Jesse Rogers

How Kansas City is approaching the trade deadline: The Royals have signaled a willingness to trade, but with an eye toward competing again next year — meaning they aren’t willing to part with the core of their pitching staff. Other teams say Kansas City is (unsurprisingly) looking to upgrade its future offense in whatever it does.

Right-handed starter Seth Lugo will be the most-watched Royal before the deadline, since he holds a $15 million player option for 2026 “that you’d assume he’s going to turn down,” said one rival staffer. That’ll make it more difficult for other teams to place a trade value on him: The Royals could want to market him as more than a mere rental, while other teams figure he’ll go into free agency in the fall when he turns down his option. — Olney

What the Dodgers need at the deadline: The Dodgers’ offense has been a source of consternation lately, with Max Muncy out, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman slumping, and key hitters tasked with lengthening out the lineup — Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman and Michael Conforto — also struggling.

But the Dodgers’ focus ahead of the deadline is still clearly the bullpen, specifically a high-leverage, right-handed reliever. Dodgers relievers lead the major leagues in innings pitched by a wide margin. Blake Treinen will be back soon, and Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol are expected to join him later in the season. But the Dodgers need at least one other trusted arm late in games.

It’s a stunning development, considering they returned the core of a bullpen that played a big role in last year’s championship run, then added Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates in free agency. But Scott and Yates have had their struggles, and there are enough injury concerns with several others that it’s a need. — Alden Gonzalez

Which D-backs starter is most coveted? The Diamondbacks are getting as many calls — if not more — about Zac Gallen as they are for Merrill Kelly, even though the latter starting pitcher is having the better season. Teams interested in adding to their rotations still have more faith in the 29-year-old Gallen than the 36-year-old Kelly. — Rogers

Who are the White Sox looking to deal? Chicago’s Adrian Houser seems likely to move, as a second-tier starter who has performed well this season. The 32-year-old right-hander was released by the Rangers in May but has been very effective since joining the White Sox rotation, giving up only two homers in 57⅔ innings and generating an ERA+ of 226. Nobody is taking those numbers at face value, but evaluators do view him as a market option. The White Sox also have some relievers worth considering.

But it seems unlikely that Luis Robert Jr. — once projected as a centerpiece of this deadline — will be dealt, unless a team makes a big bet on a player who has either underperformed or been hurt this year. The White Sox could continue to wait on Robert’s talent to manifest and his trade value to be restored by picking up his $20 million option for next year, which is hardly out of the question for a team with little future payroll obligation. — Olney

Why Rockies infielder could be popular deadline option: Colorado’s Ryan McMahon is the consolation prize for teams that miss out on Eugenio Suarez — if he’s traded at all. The Cubs could have interest and would pair him with Matt Shaw as a lefty/righty combo at third base. — Rogers

Does San Diego have enough to offer to make a big deal? The Padres have multiple needs ahead of the trade deadline — a left fielder, a catcher, a back-end starter. How adequately they can address them remains to be seen. The upper levels of their farm system have thinned out in recent years, and their budget might be tight.

The Padres dipped under MLB’s luxury-tax threshold last year, resetting the penalties. But FanGraphs projects their competitive balance tax payroll to finish at $263 million this year, easily clearing the 2025 threshold and just barely putting them into the second tier, triggering a 12% surcharge.

Padres general manager A.J. Preller might have to get creative in order to address his needs. One way he can do that is by buying and selling simultaneously. The Padres have several high-profile players who can hit the market this offseason — Dylan Cease, Michael King, Robert Suarez, Luis Arraez — and a few others who can hit the open market after 2026. Don’t be surprised to see Preller leverage at least one of those players, and their salaries, to help fill multiple needs. — Gonzalez

Which Orioles could be on the move? Not surprisingly, Baltimore is perceived as a dealer and is expected by other teams to move center fielder Cedric Mullins, first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn and some relievers. — Olney

Continue Reading

Trending