Jeremiyah Love gives Notre Dame’s offense its punch and a few bonus hurdles
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — When Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love stepped to the podium late Friday night, he could barely speak.
“I probably sound pretty terrible,” Love said.
After weeks of working his way back from a knee injury sustained in the Fighting Irish’s regular-season finale at USC, Love was hit with flu-like symptoms before a College Football Playoff first-round matchup against visiting Indiana. He spent the days before kickoff working with the athletic training staff and staying as hydrated as possible, even on a frigid game night. Notre Dame running backs coach Deland McCullough didn’t know if Love could impact the game the longer it went on.
Turns out, he needed just one touch.
Despite a voice reduced to a whisper, Love delivered the first earsplitting play of the 12-team College Football Playoff era, a 98-yard touchdown run barely four minutes in that propelled No. 7 seed Notre Dame to its first-ever CFP win. He recorded the longest play in CFP history — by 13 yards — as well as the longest by an FBS player this season, registered the longest play Indiana had ever allowed and tied Fighting Irish running back Josh Adams (2015) for the longest rush in team history.
The run also added to a growing library of highlights for Love, whose hurdles, jukes and blistering speed have made him the main attraction on a Notre Dame team that will face No. 2 seed Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 (8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN) for the CFP quarterfinals.
Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock called Love the “engine that kind of sparks this thing.” When quarterback Riley Leonard took the podium Friday, he wore a Jeremiyah Love T-shirt.
“I’ve always been a playmaker,” Love told ESPN on Monday. “My first-ever touch in football, when I was like 6 or 5, I scored a touchdown. My team has always relied on me to make big plays and make spectacular plays.
“I’ve always been the one.”
His combustible skill has been there from the start, but at Notre Dame, a quiet kid has found his voice — even speaking to “College GameDay” from the field before Friday’s game. The 6-foot, 210-pound Love also has built up his body and mind to become a more complete running back.
Can the speedy sophomore from St. Louis carry Notre Dame to its first national title since 1988?
From their seats in the parents’ section at Notre Dame Stadium on Friday, L’Tyona and Jason Love sensed their son was about to do something special.
“I’m usually able to call it,” L’Tyona said. “I’m like, ‘What if he went all the way?'”
“We’re used to seeing him do magnificent and crazy stuff,” Jason added. “We just hold our breath.”
Notre Dame had taken over at its own 2-yard line following a chaotic start to the game that included interceptions by each team. Love took the ball and raced through a hole cleared by linemen Billy Schrauth and Anthonie Knapp and tight end Cooper Flanagan.
In an instant, he zoomed past Indiana’s All-Big Ten cornerback D’Angelo Ponds. The Hoosiers’ other cornerback, Jamari Sharpe, took a poor angle toward Love, crossing in front of Ponds. But it didn’t matter. When Love gets into the open field, that’s a wrap.
“We have a saying: No cut’s the best cut,” McCullough said. “In that case, based on where the read went, no cut was the best cut. As soon as he got vertical on the sideline, he wasn’t going to get caught.”
Love’s own motto might be: No touch like the first one.
His first carry in peewee football went for a 90-yard touchdown.
After being slowed by a groin injury in the summer before his junior year at St. Louis’ Christian Brothers College High School, Love wasn’t expected to play in the opener against area powerhouse East St. Louis. On a sweltering night, Love told coach Scott Pingel, “Put me in.” The back’s first carry came on an outside counter play to the sideline. He slipped away from one defender and juked two others for a long touchdown.
“It was electric,” Jason Love said. “He sucked the air out of the whole stadium.”
Love’s run against East St. Louis stands out for Pingel, as do the five touchdowns (three rushing, two receiving) he had in the state championship at the University of Missouri’s Faurot Field. But Pingel also remembers a short gain by Love in the state semifinal when both opposing defensive tackles went unblocked.
“His ability to do things in small spaces, you have to slow the tape down to say, ‘Wow that’s amazing,'” Pingel said. “As a coach, I love his 3-yard runs. He always falls forward.”
Love uses different ways to get by defenders, including going over them. At New York’s Yankee Stadium on Nov. 23, he caught a short pass from Leonard and hurdled Army’s Donavon Platt for a 6-yard touchdown.
A week later, at USC, Love caught another short pass from Leonard then skied over USC’s Kamari Ramsey for a nice gain up the sideline. Even on a going-nowhere run against Indiana, Love stiff-armed a defender then tried the hurdle before being dropped for a loss.
“I have a lot of confidence to just try things out or do things that I want on the field,” Love said. “Last game, I wanted to hurdle somebody, so I was like, ‘F— it, let me try to hurdle,’ even though there were people behind him. Me playing with that freeness to be able do whatever I want to do has allowed me to make more explosive plays happen when the right look is there.”
Love has a track background. He won a state high school 100-meter title with a time of 10.76 seconds. But he never ran hurdles.
In high school football, hurdling is penalized.
“It resembles a hurdle, but I see long jumping,” James Gillespie, who coached Love in track at Christian Brothers, said of Love’s football aerials. “Especially the one he did against USC, if you look at that, he’s jumping off the left foot, which is what he did for us. I thought, ‘Long jump.’ The step, the cycle, hitch and a half, yeah, definitely.”
Love long jumped more than 21 feet in high school, and Gillespie thinks he could have gotten to 24 or 25. Like many who saw Love develop, Gillespie watched the run against Indiana with excitement but not surprise. As soon as Love turned the corner, Gillespie knew Love was gone, he said, “Unless Deion Sanders came out of retirement.”
Although Love’s recent wizardry has brought a bigger spotlight to his game, his favorite run of the season came late in the season opener at Texas A&M. After the two-minute timeout with the game tied at 13, Love waited for Schrauth and Flanagan to pull, scooted through the hole then shrugged off two defenders for a 21-yard touchdown — the game winner.
“Everything was on the line, really close game, two minutes left,” Love said. “The tight end made an amazing block, offensive line did their job, the receivers did their job. So, that play really was a culmination of teamwork and trusting each other and playing for each other. I was able to make an explosive play because everybody did their job.
“When that happens, great things happen.”
McCullough pinpoints the moment he felt Notre Dame would prevail in a competitive recruitment for Love. He had visited Love’s home in north St. Louis. Before entering Love’s room, McCullough saw shoes placed neatly outside on a mat.
“I said, ‘Hey, do I need to take my shoes off before I come in?'” McCullough said. “He said, ‘Nah, coach, I’m going to let you just go ahead and walk in.’ He took his own shoes off but let me walk in with mine on. I thought, ‘I must be in good shape.'”
The lined-up shoes and overall orderliness are central to Love’s personality. The gloves and towels in his Notre Dame locker are stacked perfectly. And if anyone removes Love’s athletic tape cutter, “You better put it back in the same spot, the same way,” said fellow Fighting Irish running back Aneyas Williams.
Growing up, Love would become upset when L’Tyona (pronounced Latonya) picked out his clothes for school because he wanted them a certain way. The same applied to food.
“Symmetry,” Jason Love said. “It has to be 1, 2, 3. It can’t be 1, 2, 4. It has to be in order.”
Jeremiyah was recruited by all the big-time programs, eventually narrowing his list to Texas A&M, Michigan, Oregon and Notre Dame and ultimately to Texas A&M and Notre Dame. His parents said Notre Dame’s smaller environment, along with Jeremiyah’s connection to McCullough, sealed the deal.
Still, they worried about Jeremiyah sharing a room and adjusting to being away from home.
“He’s so big on his space,” L’Tyona said. “It would interrupt his peace. We were a little worried at first when he got to Notre Dame, but he started to adjust.”
Williams also grew up in Missouri and first met Love at a state track meet. He could barely get a word out of Love. When they reunited at another track meet, Love said a little more.
Soon after Williams got to Notre Dame, though, the two grew closer.
“He was a big teacher for me,” Williams said. “He’s not a big talker, but a big thing for me was just working with him. Every day after practice, it’d be me and him on the Jugs machine, catching balls. There’s a lot about J-Love that you might not get to see, but he has a good personality.”
L’Tyona and Jason, both retired sergeants with the St. Louis Police Department, have seen their son grow at Notre Dame. When Jeremiyah was named offensive player of the year at Notre Dame’s annual Echoes Awards banquet, he delivered a “powerful message,” Williams said.
Before Friday’s game, he joked with the “College GameDay” crew about keeping his shirt on for warmups.
Jeremiyah and Jason are even working on a comic book that will chronicle Jeremiyah’s journey to be called “Jeremonstar” or “Yah Love.”
“He had to come out of his shell,” Jason said. “They always said, ‘Don’t change him. He’ll change the world.'”
Love’s “perfectionist” tendencies, as McCullough calls them, have their benefits on the football field. Highlight plays have always come easily for Love, who could dunk a basketball as an eighth grader and almost always was faster and more athletic than his peers.
But at Notre Dame, he has shown the refined focus to work toward becoming a total running back. He added about 20 pounds of what McCullough calls “physical armor” after his freshman season, when he averaged 5.4 yards per carry behind bruising back Audric Estime. Some college teams wanted Love to play cornerback or wide receiver coming out of high school, and he has improved in the slot, practicing with the receivers at times this spring to better understand coverages. He has tripled his receptions total from last season to 24, which ranks fourth on the team.
Love also has improved in the unflashy areas of his position.
“He’s really good in pass protection already,” McCullough said. “He’s a really good route runner. He’s improved his detail a whole lot as far as his run reads are concerned. He was an 88%, 89% guy in run reads. He’s at a 94%, 95% run read clip now. So, just him embracing all of the small details of being an upper-end player, because we know what his goal is.
“I’ve been there, I coached there, so I know what the NFL is about.”
McCullough, who coached with the Kansas City Chiefs as well as with college programs including USC and Indiana, has seen elements of Love’s game in previous protégés Tevin Coleman and Ronald Jones and even power backs such as Estime and Jordan Howard. The good news for Notre Dame is that it will have at least another full season with Love, who could be a Heisman Trophy contender in 2025 after leading the team with 1,057 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns this season.
But the immediate task is the CFP and a national title. He likely will top the scouting report for Georgia’s defense, which ranks 36th nationally against the run and has allowed a 100-yard rusher in four games this season. The Bulldogs have allowed 170 rushing yards or more five times. And they struggled during a two-week stretch against UMass (226 yards, two touchdowns) and Georgia Tech (260 yards, three touchdowns) before throttling Texas’ ground game for the second time this season in the SEC championship game.
“That was only 60 percent of Jeremiyah Love,” Jason said of his son’s performance against Indiana.
Love should be at or near full strength against Georgia. He’s the only FBS running back with a rushing touchdown in every game this season, also a Notre Dame record. Love has five 100-yard rushing performances and two other outings with more than 90 yards despite never eclipsing 16 carries in a game this fall.
“I play with confidence. I play free,” he said. “I’ve just been blessed with great ability. Whenever I’m able to make an explosive or do anything and help this team get stuff going, man, I just feel great.”
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Bradford Doolittle
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Bradford Doolittle
ESPN Staff Writer
- MLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com
- Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com
- Been with ESPN since 2013
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David Schoenfield
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David Schoenfield
ESPN Senior Writer
- Covers MLB for ESPN.com
- Former deputy editor of Page 2
- Been with ESPN.com since 1995
It’s MLB trade season!
From the early deals to get things started to the last-minute rush of deadline day activity on Thursday, July 31, this is your one-stop shop for grades and analysis breaking down the details for every trade as they go down.
Follow along as ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield evaluate and grade each move, with the most recent grades at the top. This story will continue to be updated, so turn back for the freshest deadline analysis.
Mariners get:
1B Josh Naylor
Diamondbacks get:
LHP Brandyn Garcia
RHP Ashton Izzi
Mariners grade: B+
This is the first significant trade heading into the final week before the deadline, and it’s interesting in part because it signifies the Diamondbacks are going to be dealing — Naylor could be the first of a group that might include Eugenio Suarez, Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen, potentially spicing up the deadline with some intriguing names.
While third base was the Mariners’ biggest offensive need, Naylor gives them a well-rounded hitter who has been one of the top contact hitters in the majors this season, hitting .292/.360/.447 with 11 home runs and the 13th-lowest strikeout rate among qualified hitters. Naylor has done most of his damage against right-handed pitchers, hitting .310/.390/.493 with nine of his 11 home runs. That’s an upgrade over incumbent Luke Raley, who has hit .248/.370/.397 against right-handers but is just 1-for-20 against southpaws, with light-hitting Donovan Solano serving as his platoon partner.
Naylor can play every day and fits somewhere in the middle of the lineup, which ranks in the bottom 10 in the majors in strikeout rate, so his contact ability will be a nice addition. It also improves Seattle’s bench as Raley can now fill in at right field (although Dominic Canzone has been hitting well) or DH, with Jorge Polanco perhaps getting some time at second base over Cole Young. Rookie third baseman Ben Williamson is an excellent defender but has just one home run in 256 at-bats. While Polanco has plenty of experience at third in his career, he hasn’t started there since April 4 as a shoulder issue has limited his throwing.
In other words: The Mariners could still seek an upgrade at third base. The Diamondbacks might wait until July 31 to deal Suarez, hoping that one of the several teams that need a third baseman will give in with a nice package of prospects. The Mariners didn’t give up any of their top 10 prospects here, so here’s guessing that Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and Arizona general manager Mike Hazen aren’t done exchanging text messages.
Diamondbacks grade: B
While Garcia and Izzi didn’t rank in Kiley McDaniel’s top 10 Mariners prospects, that’s not necessarily a knock on their potential: Seattle’s top 10 is loaded with top-100 overall prospects. Garcia was ranked No. 13 on MLB.com’s team list and Izzi No. 16.
Drafted in the 11th round out of Texas A&M in 2023, Garcia was a surprising success story as a starter in 2024, but the Mariners moved him to the bullpen this season, and he just made his MLB debut after posting a 3.51 ERA across Double-A and Triple-A with 42 strikeouts in 33⅔ innings. He throws a mid-90s sinker along with a sweeper and cutter, and held lefties to a .235 average and .255 slugging percentage. He can probably go straight to Arizona’s bullpen right now, with the idea that the Diamondbacks try him as a starter in 2026. He’s a nice sleeper prospect in a trade like this, with at least a floor as a reliever and maybe some upside as a back-end starter.
Izzi is a 21-year-old righty with a mid-90s fastball who was a fourth-round pick out of high school in 2022, but he has struggled at high-A Everett with a 5.51 ERA across 12 starts. His fastball/sweeper combo could eventually work as a reliever, although right-handed batters have hit him as hard as lefties. He’s a development prospect.
Nothing too flashy here, but there wasn’t going to be a huge market for Naylor, and he was competing with the likes of Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna in the 1B/DH class, so Arizona probably figured it had to strike first with Naylor, giving the team more time to discuss deals for their other pending free agents.
We have a new team atop our power rankings after the first week of the second half. Make way for Milwaukee!
The Brewers were the biggest riser in Week 17, going from No. 9 in our final rankings before the All-Star break to No. 1 as we approach the end of July. The No. 2 team this week? A familiar foe of the Brewers: the division-rival Cubs, who are now one game behind Milwaukee for second place in the National League Central.
Meanwhile, in the American League, the Tigers have been overtaken by the Astros and Blue Jays for best record in the league. The Yankees are now four games behind Toronto in the East and sit at No. 9 on our list, their lowest ranking of the season. New York will look to add ahead of next week’s trade deadline (July 31) to make a push down the stretch run.
Where does every team stand in our first power rankings since the All-Star break?
Our expert panel has ranked every team based on a combination of what we’ve seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts Buster Olney, Alden Gonzalez and Jorge Castillo to weigh in with analysis on the biggest priority of the second half for all 30 teams.
Second-half preview | Week 15 | Preseason rankings
Record: 61-41
Previous ranking: 9
The Brewers’ biggest strength is self-awareness. They know what they do best and never stray from it. What they do now is pitch well (3.34 starters’ ERA, second lowest in the majors), play great defense (23 outs above average, second most in baseball), run the bases better than any other team (12 base running outs above average) and do the little things right offensively (take walks, put the ball in play, advance runners). The Brewers have won 30 of 43 games since the start of June, and that is no accident. If there’s one thing they would love, though, it’s for William Contreras to revert back to his prior offensive form. — Gonzalez
Record: 60-42
Previous ranking: 3
There might not be a bigger need among contenders than the Cubs’ desire to add a starting pitcher. Chicago’s offense has performed like one of the best in the sport, and the Cubs bullpen was good enough throughout May and June to ease concerns about its struggles in July. But if the Cubs want to hold off Milwaukee in the NL Central and make a deep run in October, they’ll need to add another arm alongside Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd. Jameson Taillon should return from a calf strain around the middle of August, but Chicago is going to need another impact arm for its rotation. — Gonzalez
Record: 60-43
Previous ranking: 1
In some respects, Detroit’s recent swoon is a blessing in disguise. The Tigers’ lead in the AL Central is still double-digit sturdy — according to Fangraphs, the chances of them winning the division stand at 93.3% — and soon, they’ll get Kerry Carpenter back for their lineup. But the recent losses have fully highlighted the team’s need for one or even two power arms at the back end of their bullpen since the Tigers seem to have a real opportunity to reach the World Series. If the Cardinals decide to trade Ryan Helsley, the Tigers will almost certainly be among the bidders. — Olney
Record: 60-43
Previous ranking: 2
Four Dodgers relievers who were far from expected to pitch high leverage when the season began — Ben Casparius, Alexis Diaz, Will Klein and Edgardo Henriquez — allowed six runs in a span of two innings against the Twins on Tuesday night, turning a tight game into a rout. The Dodgers eventually lost for the 11th time in a stretch of 14 games, by which point their bullpen ranked 24th in the majors in ERA, WHIP and opponents’ OPS. They have been playing all-around bad baseball of late — offensively, defensively, on the mound — but the bullpen is the focus with the trade deadline approaching. — Gonzalez
Record: 60-42
Previous ranking: 6
It’s nearly August and the Blue Jays are in first place, atop the only division in the majors with four teams over .500 despite a run differential that suggests they’re six games worse. It’s beyond time to take them seriously. To continue surpassing expectations, they’ll need to continue their brand of ball, which centers around not striking out. Toronto’s 17.4% strikeout rate is the lowest in the majors by more than a percentage point and would be the lowest by a team for a season since the 2017 Astros. The Jays put pressure on teams by putting the ball in play, and it’s working. — Castillo
Record: 58-44
Previous ranking: 5
The Phillies have the starting pitching for a World Series run. They could use an upgrade to their outfield at the trade deadline, but the lineup is battle-tested with star power. The bullpen, however, is another matter. Left-hander Jose Alvarado is eligible to return from his PED suspension in mid-August. While he should bolster the bullpen for the stretch run, he isn’t eligible to pitch in the postseason, so solidifying the relief corps for October — should the Phillies reach the playoffs — is the top priority.
They began addressing the concern this week by signing 40-year-old David Robertson for a third stint with the organization. Expect president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to scour the trade market for more knowing that starters left out of the rotation in October could instead become contributors out of the bullpen. — Castillo
Record: 60-42
Previous ranking: 4
Some team executives don’t place a high value on club culture and chemistry, not trusting something that can’t really be quantified. But those front office-types should at least consider what’s happened in Houston this season: In a year after Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker moved on, the Astros have continued to win even while seeing their biggest stars (Yordan Alvarez, Jeremy Pena and now Isaac Paredes) go down with injuries. Moving forward, the 2025 Astros just need to keep surviving — and winning — while they wait for their stars to return. — Olney
Record: 59-44
Previous ranking: 7
Oh, look, another contender with pitching concerns. While there are questions about the Mets’ rotation — from the lack of a true No. 1 starter to Clay Holmes‘ drastically increased workload to whether Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea can rediscover their previous form upon recent reinstatement from the injured list — David Stearns told reporters this week that his top objective before the trade deadline is acquiring help for a bullpen that is operating on fumes. If that doesn’t happen, the president of baseball operations said he will explore calling up top starting pitching prospects to serve as relievers in the majors for the balance of this season. However it’s done, upgrading the bullpen is atop the list of priorities. — Castillo
Record: 56-46
Previous ranking: 8
As general manager Brian Cashman has plainly outlined, the Yankees have holes in their pitching staff that he wants to fill before the trade deadline. But the best pitcher the Yankees add in the coming weeks may already be on their payroll. Luis Gil is slated to come off the IL to make his season debut by early August. If all goes right, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year should provide a boost to the Yankees’ starting rotation for their playoff push. They also could use him out of the bullpen in October should they decide he’s a better fit there. Whatever the role, he’s an important piece for their championship hopes. — Castillo
Record: 54-48
Previous ranking: 12
If you’re looking for the sleeper team in the AL, there are a lot of signs that Seattle could emerge into a dangerous team by September. The talented rotation, hammered by injuries this season, could finally be intact when Bryce Miller returns sometime in early August. Since June 29, the Mariners have had one of the most productive offenses, hitting more homers than every team except the Yankees and averaging about five runs per game. And Seattle’s not done yet — president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is expected to add corner infield production before the deadline. — Olney
Record: 55-47
Previous ranking: 13
The Padres have practically labeled themselves a second-half team, a nod to the 2024 group that won 34 of 52 games in August and September. To accomplish that this year, though, general manager A.J. Preller will have to give them a boost offensively. The Padres have scored the sixth-fewest runs in baseball this season. The Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters of their lineup have combined for a .580 OPS, lowest in the majors. Yu Darvish remaining healthy and Michael King rejoining the rotation are paramount to a team that has seen a lot of its depth get traded away in recent years. Most of all, though, they need a bat — or two. — Gonzalez
Record: 55-49
Previous ranking: 14
Walker Buehler‘s 5.72 ERA is the sixth highest in the majors among the 105 pitchers with at least 80 innings thrown this season, and his strikeout-to-walk rate ranks 95th. He has the fourth-highest home run rate. It’s been a frustrating year for the right-hander. But Buehler posted one of his best starts of the season Monday when he held the Phillies to two runs (one earned) across seven innings. It’s still not quite the high-octane vintage Buehler — his fastball is average 94 mph, nearly three mph slower than his peak years in Los Angeles, in his first full season after his second Tommy John surgery — but his getting on track could make a substantial impact on Boston’s postseason hopes. — Castillo
Record: 53-50
Previous ranking: 10
Major League Baseball has decided that Tampa Bay will play postseason home games at Steinbrenner Field if it qualifies. Now, it’s all about the Rays not letting their road-heavy second-half schedule — created to avoid the miserable heat and relentless rain without a roof in Tampa — hijack their chances. Beginning Friday in Cincinnati, they will play 37 of their remaining 59 games away from Steinbrenner Field. That split includes a two-week, four-city, 12-game West Coast road trip in August. That trek could very well decide their season. — Castillo
Record: 54-49
Previous ranking: 11
The Rafael Devers trade was widely hailed as the type of move that could put the Giants over the top, but the opposite has occurred. Since the shocking move to acquire Devers (and the entirety of his contract) on June 15, the Giants are just 13-18 and their offense sports the sixth-lowest OPS in the sport at .685. Willy Adames has turned his season around, but practically everybody else — Mike Yastrzemski, Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman and, notably, Devers — has slumped. The Giants might be able to make additional lineup additions on the margins, but their big move has been made. They just need their hitters to step up. — Gonzalez
Record: 53-50
Previous ranking: 18
Manager Bruce Bochy said over the weekend that he sensed a turnaround for the club’s sluggish offense shortly before the All-Star break, with the team doing a better job of putting the ball in play. The Rangers have played better of late, making the question of whether to trade for or away talent easier for president of baseball operations Chris Young. With Jake Burger and Joc Pederson on the IL, executives with other teams speculate that Texas will add a first baseman before the deadline, whether it’s someone like the D-Backs’ Josh Naylor or maybe the Nationals’ Nathaniel Lowe. — Olney
Record: 53-50
Previous ranking: 16
The Reds have the makings of a really good team, with a standout group of starters, a dynamic offense and a Hall of Fame manager in Terry Francona. But they have yet to find their footing, and at this point, it’s fair to wonder if they ever will. One thing they can do to help that cause, perhaps, is add an outfielder. Reds outfielders have combined to slash only .242/.326/.376 this season. Bringing in someone like Luis Robert Jr., Jarren Duran or Adolis Garcia is the type of move that might finally get this team going, especially with Hunter Greene (groin injury) nearing a rehab assignment. But adding an impact bat seems unlikely. — Gonzalez
Record: 52-51
Previous ranking: 15
The Cardinals finished the month of May eight games over .500 and tied with the Padres for the final wild-card spot. They then split 28 games in June and followed it with 12 losses through their first 17 games in July. With the trade deadline a week away, they find themselves among a bevy of teams occupying an uncomfortable middle space — open to trading away rental players but not willing to fully give up on 2025 just yet, especially with John Mozeliak, their longtime president of baseball operations, stepping away at season’s end. St. Louis will part with some of its best relievers, but its focus should be on doing what it can to find some controllable starting pitching help. — Gonzalez
Record: 50-53
Previous ranking: 17
The D-backs’ biggest priority over this next week is clarity, though it won’t be fully realized. The playoff field is still too muddled. The trade deadline, thus, is too early. And they only convoluted matters with a weekend sweep of the Cardinals. Still, though, the D-backs find themselves far enough out of the race — not to mention injured enough throughout their pitching staff — to make punting on 2025 the prudent choice. A bevy of their pending free agents are expected to be available. General manager Mike Hazen will be tasked with making long-term moves at the trade deadline without compromising the current team. — Gonzalez
Record: 51-50
Previous ranking: 22
With the Guardians in a very different place in the standings this year compared to last season, they are expected to weigh opportunities to maximize the possible trade return for some of their veterans. The player drawing the most inquiries is Steven Kwan, whose skill set would fit a number of contenders, with his high rate of contact, good speed and strong defense. But Kwan will be arbitration eligible for a couple of more winters, which gives the Guardians time to wait — probably into 2026 — for a team to meet their asking price. — Olney
Record: 50-53
Previous ranking: 19
This is the specific time of year when a small sample size matters — when one good outing can make all the difference — and that’s why a small cadre of rival evaluators closely watched Seth Lugo‘s start against the Cubs on Wednesday. But whether Lugo is traded before the deadline or not, the Royals’ primary focus seems to be — not surprisingly — on upgrading their brutal outfield production. That means continuing to give Jac Caglianone the reps he needs as he adjusts to major league pitching. That means looking for opportunities, as the Marlins did with Kyle Stowers, to land hitters under team control through 2026 and beyond. — Olney
Record: 49-53
Previous ranking: 20
Other teams expect Minnesota will deal before the deadline. But no matter who goes — some rival execs are skeptical that the team would seriously consider dealing Joe Ryan — the Twins need to get major league ready players or prospects who help set them up for the future. The front office is stuck in something of a waiting game, with the franchise’s sale still being shaped. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey and his staff presumably can’t grow the payroll and take on debt in this period. Resolution of the ownership situation needs to happen before Minnesota can fully build a roster. — Olney
Record: 49-53
Previous ranking: 21
The Angels are among the teams sitting on the fence as the deadline approaches, but they’ve dropped four of six games coming out of the All-Star break at a time when a small sample size matters. No matter what happens between now and July 31, however, what remains paramount for the Angels is the development of their young players. First baseman Nolan Schanuel — still only 23 years old — is having a good season, and Zach Neto has accumulated a more than respectable 3.4 WAR. Jo Adell has 21 homers. But more is needed. — Olney
Record: 44-57
Previous ranking: 24
It’s been another nightmare season for the Braves, riddled with terrible injury luck and unexpected poor performances from key players. Michael Harris II‘s struggles are perhaps the most alarming. The center fielder is batting .214. His .559 OPS and 50 wRC+ rank 159th out of baseball’s 159 qualified hitters, while his 2.8% walk rate is tied for 159th.
It’s been a stunning downturn for a player in his age-24 season who’s only three years removed from posting 4.8 fWAR with a .853 OPS as a rookie — a first year so encouraging that the Braves signed him to an eight-year, $72 million extension that August. Harris’ glove and speed are still valuable — maybe valuable enough to absorb his offensive regression — but a turnaround at the plate in the second half will ease Atlanta’s concerns. — Castillo
Record: 48-53
Previous ranking: 23
The Marlins have turned a corner this season. Since June 10, they’re 23-13 — good for the second-best record in the NL. Zoom out further and they’ve been 35-35 since May 1. Outfielder Kyle Stowers is a legitimate All-Star and franchise player. Eury Perez has looked sharp in his return from Tommy John surgery. Otto Lopez has compiled 3 bWAR. The franchise is trending in the right direction. The final two-plus months is about continuing development, unearthing other future contributors and finishing the year with positive momentum. — Castillo
Record: 44-57
Previous ranking: 25
Besides unloading impending free agents for young talent at the deadline, the Orioles’ other significant second-half move with an eye toward 2026 could be promoting top prospect Samuel Basallo to the majors. The towering catcher (6-foot-4) will likely primarily play first base and DH in the majors with Adley Rutschman expected to return from injury soon, but Basallo’s bat is the priority. He has gigantic power that has clicked this season at Triple-A Norfolk, where he’s hitting .264 with 19 home runs and a .974 OPS in 62 games at just 20 years old. It shouldn’t be long before he’s in Baltimore. — Castillo
Record: 42-61
Previous ranking: 26
Paul Skenes boasts a 1.91 ERA, the lowest among qualified starters. His record: 5-8. Any hopes of building around the game’s best young pitcher will hinge around the Pirates’ ability to add offense, a painstaking process that will continue with this year’s trade deadline. The front office will be fielding a lot of calls about Mitch Keller, David Bednar, Dennis Santana and potentially Bryan Reynolds, among others, over the next week. It is crucial that they leverage them for the types of hitters they’ve struggled to find. — Gonzalez
Record: 42-62
Previous ranking: 27
The A’s have established a formidable group of position players in Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson, Lawrence Butler, Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom. But if the franchise is going to take a serious step forward before the move to Las Vegas, it will need to build a pitching staff, and it’s unclear whether the A’s will do that over the next couple of years. Their investment in Luis Severino has been a bust. Other teams say 32-year-old Jeffrey Springs might be available for the right offer. And let’s be real, the ballpark in Sacramento doesn’t foster pitching. The A’s have the second-worst home ERA in the majors at 5.36. — Olney
Record: 41-61
Previous ranking: 28
The Nationals have an exciting core of young position players, led by 22-year-old All-Star James Wood. Now it’s about figuring out which pitchers are part of the future. All-Star left-hander MacKenzie Gore figures to continue as the staff ace with two years of team control remaining after this season, though a trade for a substantial haul isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Relievers Brad Lord and Cole Henry, both 25, have posted strong campaigns. Cade Cavalli, a 2020 first-round draft pick, is nearing a return from a Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for all of the 2023 season and most of 2024.
However, Gore is the only Nationals starter with an ERA under 4.80 this season, and the bullpen ranks last in the majors in ERA. Discovering and developing the next wave of pitching talent is paramount. — Castillo
Record: 37-66
Previous ranking: 29
Sometime in the next couple of weeks, the White Sox will likely surpass their 2024 win total of 41. While another 100-loss season seems likely, there is clear growth happening with the roster, and this will continue to be the focus for the team. Pitchers such as Sean Burke and Shane Smith and position players such as Kyle Teel are gaining experience. There are teams interested in acquiring the talented Luis Robert Jr. (hello, Padres), and for the right return, the White Sox will trade him before the deadline. — Olney
Record: 26-76
Previous ranking: 30
The Rockies have quietly played better baseball of late, going from winning an abysmal 16% of their games in March, April and May to a more respectable — though obviously still not good — 39% of their games in June and July. The record for most losses in modern baseball history is still within reach, and here’s the thing: The Rockies should not care. They need to approach this trade deadline with a mindset that they haven’t carried into enough of them — of unloading accomplished veterans to acquire as much young talent as possible. Early indications are that they’re wide-open to that, regardless of what it might mean for the final two months of this season. That’s a good thing. — Gonzalez
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