
‘Like John Wayne’: To succeed at Western Kentucky, Tyson Helton seeks gunslingers
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adminBOWLING GREEN, Ky. — When Tyson Helton evaluates a quarterback, the Western Kentucky head coach channels the Old West.
“There’s not one damn great quarterback who don’t walk up there like John Wayne,” Helton said, his southern drawl stretching the Western star’s name out an extra syllable.
To illustrate, Helton stands up from the chair in his office and shows his preferred quarterback look — a deliberate head turn to bark concise instructions and intentional pointing to check plays. He wants a player completely unaffected by the moment.
Helton then parodies what he hates seeing, shaking his leg like he’s got bees in his boxers, flailing his arms dramatically and whipping his head around as if he’s expecting Myles Garrett to rush off the edge.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Brandon Doughty here at Western, Sam Darnold at USC or Bailey Zappe or Austin Reed here,” Helton said, rattling off quarterbacks he has coached. “All the good ones, when they walk to the line of scrimmage, it’s damn John Wayne standing up there.”
In a college football environment that’s been labeled the wild, wild west for years, Helton has stayed relevant by exuding John Wayne-like calm in the head coaching chair. He’s defied the sport’s gravity — power leagues poaching, the portal churn and limited NIL — by finding gunslingers who can stay calm and spin the ball through all the headwinds.
The proof is on Helton’s résumé: Western Kentucky is one of 11 FBS college football programs to play in a bowl in each of the past six years, and it’s the only non-power league school to have a player picked in the first three rounds of the NFL draft in the past four years.
That kind of sustained success has made the Hilltoppers both an anomaly and a target. In an era when programs outside the power leagues have essentially turned into talent incubators for top-end conferences — including WKU losing 10 players to power schools and close to 70 percent of its production this year alone — Helton has kept Western Kentucky consistent during an era where inconsistency has become an expectation.
Helton has adapted unsentimentally to college football’s seismic changes with the same flatlined vibes he seeks in a quarterback. “The minute you changed it to the portal and NIL, it became a transactional business,” he said. “Right?”
He also has a simple transaction plan that’s kept WKU ahead even as it brings in 60 new scholarship players this year: relentlessly seek a quarterback who can be the program’s engine.
Helton’s next quarterback, FCS transfer Maverick McIvor, grew up enamored with John Wayne and has deep ties to the actor. Wayne directed a movie, “The Alamo,” on a ranch owned by McIvor’s family.
“If you have a quarterback, you have a chance,” Helton said. “And that’s the No. 1 piece that’s so important in today’s game.”
Helton has leaned in on early acceptance of college football as a year-to-year business. He tells players in the preseason that he, his staff and all the players will be evaluating their options at the end of the year. So he asks only for a year of dedication in the foxhole. He sums up the modern ethos this way: “You’re going to have to look at people — hey, this is not going to work out,” Helton said. “The same way they’re going to look at you and say, ‘Hey coach, I’m going to have to move on.'”
Then he adjusts accordingly. Lose one quarterback who breaks the NCAA record for touchdowns and passing yards in a season? Helton will find another quarterback to lead the country in passing yards, as he did when the Hilltoppers transitioned from Zappe to Reed in 2021 and 2022.
A star offensive coordinator leaves for a Power Five gig? Helton will promote an unknown off-field assistant without a hitch. After Zach Kittley spent a year as the WKU offensive coordinator, he left for the same job at Texas Tech, then became the head coach at Florida Atlantic. His anonymous replacement, Ben Arbuckle, would also do the job for a year and is now the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma.
Now that the portal has become mainstream, Helton said he’s seeing more value in high school recruiting and is making a shift back there. Last June, WKU barely did any high school official visits, but that’s changed. He’s got visits in three straight weeks this month. He needs to zig before others zag.
“At a place like Western Kentucky,” Helton said, “the mindset is always to stay cutting edge and stay ahead of the game.”
When last season’s primary starter, Caden Veltkamp, left to play for Kittley at FAU, Helton executed the package deal maneuver he helped popularize. Helton helped usher the coordinator-quarterback package deal into the mainstream when he plucked Kittley and Zappe from Houston Christian in December of 2020.
This spin on the carousel, he snared Abilene Christian offensive coordinator Rick Bowie and McIvor, who was the No. 4 passer in the FCS last year for ACU.
They come with big expectations and goals, as Helton tells Bowie the same message he once relayed to Kittley: If you do your job, you should be “one-and-done here” and go call plays at a power school.
They are bringing the right perspective.
“You want to be like John Wayne, kicking the saloon doors open,” McIvor said of playing the position. “That’s why Coach Helton says that. It’s relatable. It’s so fitting.”
That mindset will help Helton confront his next and biggest challenge — replacing nearly 70 percent of his production from last year. He lost all four defensive linemen to Indiana, Auburn, Florida State and Wake Forest, as well as two quarterbacks — Veltcamp to FAU and injured quarterback TJ Finley to Tulane.
Without them, Western Kentucky ranks No. 125 nationally in returning production rankings, per ESPN’s Bill Connelly.
“I love it,” Helton said. “I love the challenge of it. [But] do I want to be in this position? I do not.”
He jokes that WKU should come up with a graphic to show recruits how much money former Hilltoppers have gone on to make elsewhere. It’s estimated that they made more than $3 million in the last cycle. Western Kentucky has about $1 million to spend on its entire roster, per Helton, which is a fraction of what individual players make in the power conferences. “We’ve got a knife in a gun fight,” Helton said with a laugh.
Still, Western Kentucky is one of only four non-power conference teams to reach a bowl in six straight seasons, dating back to the beginning of Helton’s tenure. The Hilltoppers join Louisiana, Liberty and Marshall in that pint-sized fraternity of consistency as college football undergoes a tsunami of changes, from the portal to NIL to transfer rules — all of which Helton embraces.
“When everyone was pushing back,” he said in reference to NIL, “it was a way for me to say, ‘Hey, I know the players are going to take full advantage of this. I know we can pick what we need to win that fits us.'”
The transaction most likely to become the bellwether to Western Kentucky’s success in 2025 is the acquisition of McIvor from Abilene. McIvor threw for 8,012 yards and 63 touchdowns in three years there, including 506 yards in an overtime loss to Texas Tech to open the 2024 season.
That outburst put both him and Bowie on the radars of big schools, and they ended up at WKU together. McIvor picked WKU over schools like Wake Forest and Tulane.
McIvor will turn 25 before WKU opens against Sam Houston in Week 0, and he brings both a name out of “Friday Night Lights” and a demeanor that fits Helton’s belief in a Wayne-like line of scrimmage.
McIvor said there’s a ranch in his family called Quien Sabe in Midland County, Texas, where Wayne interacted with his relatives frequently over the years. Such lore meant that McIvor grew up a huge John Wayne fan, and he even has a picture of the famous actor in his apartment.
He loved that Helton references Wayne as a model for quarterback comportment. And he’s not shy about what he’s aiming to achieve.
“The perfect script would be, first and foremost, winning a championship in Conference USA,” McIvor said. “I want that under our belt and throw for right next to 6,000 yards, complete 75 percent of my passes and less than five interceptions.”
How has Helton, 47, built WKU to where those types of numbers are an expectation? The background starts with growing up in a football family, as he played quarterback in college for his father, Kim Helton, at the University of Houston.
Along his path, he has worked for everyone from June Jones at Hawaii to Jeff Brohm at WKU and his older brother, Clay Helton, at USC. He’s picked and chosen from systems, melding his coordinators’ strengths with his core beliefs.
The results of all that tinkering has yielded an incubator to tailor his background with the beliefs of the coordinators and, of course, tying them with the skill set of the quarterback and surrounding talent.
Over the past four years, with four different coordinators and three different quarterbacks, Western Kentucky has finished, on average, 10th nationally in passing offense. When asked to explain his success in that realm, Helton points to a never-ending search to find the next great quarterback.
“I look at pretty much every Division I quarterback every single year,” he said. “I watch them through the season. I know who the backups are. We recruit these guys out of high school.
“I track the FCS guys. I track the Division II guys. I have a recruiting staff that helps me with all that. I am constantly watching those guys.”
What does Helton value in quarterbacks to see what others have missed? “Forget about arm strength,” Helton said, stressing the importance of pre-snap manipulation. “The anticipation with the accuracy piece is unstoppable.”
Scouting quarterbacks doubles as a way to scout coordinators and playcallers. Watching McIvor introduced him to Bowie, who came from the Dana Holgorsen tree before calling plays at Valdosta State and Abilene Christian.
Bowie says the Air Raid is like a steak: Everyone seasons and garnishes it differently. Helton’s flavor will be a form of what they call the Pro-Raid, marrying Air Raid passing with a pro-style run game. That’s been built from five offensive coordinators in the past six years all bringing different concepts to poach, borrow and evolve WKU’s wide-open scheme.
“It’s more about space and numbers than just throwing the football,” Bowie said. “I see it blending. There’s a strong Air Raid component to it, but not being reckless, and doing what’s best to win the game.”
McIvor has been around long enough that he committed to Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech, a pledge made back in December of 2018. He jokes that he hopes the more apt word to describe him is mature, rather than old. His experience made the opportunity at WKU what he called a “no-brainer,” as he calls it “the best decision I ever made” before even throwing a pass there.
There’s been an urgency to accompany this final year. But McIvor plans to approach it the steady way his coach wants him to approach the line of scrimmage.
“This is my job, I’m going to be the best I can be at it,” he said. “I think if I have the year that I have planned and, in my mind, I believe I can be a draft pick. And that’s my goal.”
And if McIvor achieves it, that would mean the pinball numbers and accompanying wins would continue for Helton, as he defies attrition and keeps hunting high-flying offenses one John Wayne behind center at a time.
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MLB trade grades: Mariners land Josh Naylor in first big deadline deal
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2 hours agoon
July 25, 2025By
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Bradford Doolittle
CloseBradford Doolittle
ESPN Staff Writer
- MLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com
- Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com
- Been with ESPN since 2013
-
David Schoenfield
CloseDavid Schoenfield
ESPN Senior Writer
- Covers MLB for ESPN.com
- Former deputy editor of Page 2
- Been with ESPN.com since 1995
Jul 24, 2025, 09:45 PM ET
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.
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Mariners land slugging 1B Naylor from D-backs
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2 hours agoon
July 25, 2025By
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The Seattle Mariners acquired first baseman Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night, kicking off Major League Baseball’s trade season with a deal that bolsters Seattle’s efforts to return to the postseason and signals the Diamondbacks are open for business.
The deal, which sends left-handed pitching prospect Brandyn Garcia and right-handed pitching prospect Ashton Izzi to the Diamondbacks, reinforces Seattle’s intentions to aggressively add to its roster before the July 31 deadline.
The Diamondbacks, who entered the season with hopes of returning to their form in 2023 when they made a surprise run to the World Series, are expected to be similarly busy, with a number of impending free agents like Naylor. Among third baseman Eugenio Suarez and right-handers Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen, Arizona has some of the most sought-after players on the trade market.
Naylor, 28, is a slugging first baseman whose low strikeout rate makes him particularly appealing to teams. Arizona acquired him over the winter from Cleveland, where he had spent the majority of his career following a trade from San Diego.
In 93 games this season, Naylor is hitting .292/.360/.447 with 11 home runs, 59 RBIs and 49 strikeouts in 394 plate appearances. Naylor, a 2024 All-Star known for occasional displays of on-field emotion, has hit .267/.329/.444 with 95 home runs and 402 RBIs in 691 career games. He has played 103 career games at designated hitter, where he could see time in Seattle, which ended a 20-year postseason drought in 2022 but finished one game behind the final wild-card winner in the American League each of the past two seasons.
While Garcia, 25, made his major league debut earlier this week as a reliever, he blitzed through the Mariners’ system as a starter after they selected him in the 11th round of the 2023 draft out of Texas A&M. With a power sinker that runs into the high 90s with a breaking ball that works from his low-slot delivery, he could wind up in either role. As a starter last season, he put up a 2.48 ERA between High-A and Double-A in 116 innings with 134 strikeouts and 47 walks, while in relief this year he struck out 42 and walked 17 in 33⅓ innings with a 3.51 ERA.
Izzi, 21, was a fourth-round pick out of high school in 2022 who tamed the California League last year with a 2.85 ERA in 110⅔ innings. Over 47.1 innings at High-A this season, he has struck out 54, walked 21 and allowed eight home runs with a 5.51 ERA.
Arizona, whose core of outfielder Corbin Carroll, second baseman Ketel Marte and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo remains one of the most talented in the game, has sought pitching on the trade market following injuries to Corbin Burnes and Jordan Montgomery and a 50-53 start. With Kelly and Gallen potentially leaving via free agency, bolstering the rotation going forward is seen as a priority, especially with a likely deal for Suarez, who is regarded as the best position player readily available at the deadline.
The Mariners, meanwhile, did not tap into their cadre of high-end prospects who comprise arguably the best farm system in baseball. Seattle has been loath to deal the best of them — including shortstop Colt Emerson, outfielder Jonny Farmelo and right-hander Ryan Sloan — for short-term options. The Mariners’ minor league pitching depth grew beyond Sloan and switch pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje when LSU left-hander Kade Anderson fell to them with the No. 3 pick in the draft over the All-Star break.
Seattle entered Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels six games behind Houston for the AL West division lead but, at 54-48, is tied with Boston for the second wild-card spot in the AL.
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MLB Power Rankings: A red-hot NL team surges up to debut at No. 1
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6 hours agoon
July 24, 2025By
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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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