It takes a village? Inside the MLB ballpark model of the future
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Bradford Doolittle
The Battery was fully charged that first day, more than eight years ago, when the Atlanta Braves unveiled baseball’s next big thing to the greater MLB world.
This was April 14, 2017, the date of the Braves’ first regular-season game at Truist (then SunTrust) Park. It was a perfect, 79-degree day, as 41,149 patrons turned out to see the new digs, the Braves’ third home since arriving from Milwaukee in 1966. A smiling Hank Aaron waved to the fans as he made his way onto the field with the aid of a cane to deliver the first pitch. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were on hand.
“It is a classic-feeling ballpark,” an unusually effusive Rob Manfred, baseball’s commissioner then and now, said before the game. “Just had a little tour. Some of the different seating areas in the ballpark, a lot of imagination, a lot of options in terms of seating. It’s the kind of ballpark that will attract, not only our hardcore fans that really are the backbone of our game, but really people who may not be quite as interested [in baseball], because there are so many options here.”
Ah, the options. As much interest as there was in the new park, baseball had seen many ballparks unveiled over its long history. This was different, because the Braves were introducing not just a stadium, but a village, a new neighborhood in Cobb County, Georgia, that did not exist before. The mixed-use development, called The Battery, wasn’t quite finished that first day — the hulking Omni Hotel that now overlooks the ballpark wasn’t up and running just yet, among other things — but most of it was ready for action. And whether they realized it or not, all those who jammed the streets and walkways of the new village were seeing something that had not yet been seen in baseball.
What had been created for the low, low price of a reported $1.1 billion, in a 60-acre suburban parcel that heretofore had been literally nothing, was a baseball theme park, an Atlanta Braves bubble, where you could live, work, eat and be merry, and you could do those things year-round, even when baseball wasn’t happening.
“The most exciting thing for me is the number of fans who were here really early and were enjoying the place for a full day,” Manfred said. “I do think it’s a model for other organizations. You know, we ask our fans to do a lot. They come 81 times a year. You’ve got to make sure you have a venue that is attractive and provides entertainment alternatives, food alternatives. The Braves have done just an unbelievable job with those concepts.”
Since then, Truist/Battery has been a resounding success for the Braves.
“By creating a better fan experience, you’re creating more desire for fans to want to come here,” Braves president and CEO Derek Schiller said. “It sets the event revenues, which includes tickets of course for the baseball team, on a better trajectory. Then beyond that, you’ve got a whole other set of revenues from the real estate development that can then be deployed for the baseball team.”
There is every indication that the Braves are swimming in gravy and the real estate arm of the operation is a key factor in that success. On-field performance matters, too, and it hasn’t hurt that since Truist Park opened, the Braves have won six division titles, earned seven playoff berths and won a World Series. But this, too, was more or less planned, as Atlanta timed its full-scale rebuild to begin to bear fruit around the time the new venue was opened. They pretty much nailed it.
Financially, it’s easy to see the impact of The Battery through the prism of the annual franchise valuations published by Forbes. At the time the Braves announced their move, the most recent set of valuations ranked the Braves 15th across MLB. The Braves now rank eighth, at an estimated $3 billion. Their 250% increase in valuation since the announcement is the fourth highest during that span, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros.
While it is hard not to be impressed by the sheer audacity of what the Braves had done, with the aid of public funds that remain a source of contention in Cobb County and beyond, it’s worth revisiting Manfred’s 2017 comments on a new model for teams. Would such projects — a stadium and a neighborhood to go with it, created concurrently, become baseball’s new ballpark standard?
The answer is as complicated as these sorts of megadevelopment projects always are, but from the standpoint of the team, the Braves’ village-style development has been an unqualified success. And that is a big reason it now seems that nearly every team wants a village of its own.
A new phase of MLB ballparks
What we now refer to as ballpark villages isn’t a new concept, and the project in Cobb County wasn’t an invention so much as an iteration, the product of what the Braves sought and felt they could not get from their former home, Turner Field, near downtown Atlanta, and the ingenuity of the park’s architects, Populous, who designed the park itself and stewarded the overall development process with other companies.
From design through construction, it took about 37 months to turn an empty field nestled next to a confluence of freeways into Battery Atlanta. The goal was to create not just a park, and not even a park with a revenue-boosting entertainment district surrounding it, but what it became: a brand-new neighborhood.
The ballpark village concept dates all the way back to the 1880s, when eccentric St. Louis Browns owner Chris von der Ahe turned an early version of Sportsman’s Park into something akin to a baseball carnival, complete with a water slide in right field and a beer garden that was, technically speaking, in the field of play. Many decades later, in a different part of St. Louis, the Cardinals opened Busch Stadium III in 2006 and have been gradually developing the grounds of the old park across the street into what is literally called “Ballpark Village” ever since.
Truist Park and The Battery presented a unique challenge to its designers, who have seen an evolution in the kinds of projects they are asked to ponder in recent years.
“There has been a shift,” said Zach Allee, principal, senior architect at Populous, who worked on the project. “When you’re able to design Wrigleyville at the same time as Wrigley Field, that’s a different opportunity than in organically growing. It depends on the circumstance, the place and the sport, but we’re certainly getting a lot more of this mixed-use stuff. There’s a big desire for this kind of community that’s 24/7 around these projects, especially when there is public funding involved. They need to be a lot more than just a ballpark or a stadium.”
Ah, Wrigleyville. As we ponder the extent to which the Truist/Battery project has become baseball’s ballpark model, we know that it, too, had its models, perhaps most prevalently Wrigley Field and the neighborhood around it on Chicago’s North Side.
“Chicago has always been a unique atmosphere,” McGuirk told ESPN when Truist Park opened. “There’s nothing like it in the United States, in baseball and sport. But even the ownership of the Chicago Cubs understands what we’re doing, and I’ve had conversations with them. This is sort of an even bigger breakthrough.”
In seeking that Wrigleyville vibe, the Braves were in effect turning back the clock in the stadium design saga, skipping over the past two predominant trends and returning — albeit in a highly reimagined form — to foundational concepts.
In “Ballpark: Baseball in the American City,” author and architectural critic Paul Goldberger refers to four phases in the history of stadium development.
It began with the classic lineage of parks — Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Ebbets Field, Tiger Stadium, etc. — located in dense, urban environments and literally shaped by the neighborhoods around them. Next came the move away from the city centers to suburban (or suburban-style) areas with cookie-cutter stadiums, often multisport, surrounded by oceans of surface parking lots — Riverfront Stadium, Royals Stadium, Shea Stadium.
Then came the move back to the city, the wave of retro parks started by the arrival of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in the early ’90s, parks that brought baseball back to its urban roots and which — hopefully — would spur organic economic growth around them. It’s that last part that didn’t work so well for the Braves at Turner Field, leading them to explore other options.
The Braves got their development and so much more — a neighborhood all their own, under their control. Team officials were very much aware that they were doing something with similar historical resonance to what happened in Baltimore.
“I’m a Baltimore native,” Hall of Fame Braves executive John Schuerholz told ESPN when the Braves’ park opened. “I was gone from Baltimore when Camden Yards was built, but Camden Yards’ design, that creative vision that incorporated the Civil War warehouse building as a part of that structure, that started a whole new view of how baseball stadiums ought to be built. I think that this is the new Camden Yards.”
According to Goldberger, Schuerholz’s words were more than a little prescient. With Truist Park and the development around it, a fourth-phase ballpark evolution has dawned.
“If we think of the third wave of re-integrating into the real city,” Goldberger said. “The fourth wave is the making of a kind of pretend city around the ballpark, either in the literal sense of The Battery, which is really created out of nothing. Or the way places like St. Louis have created their own little world, but is still in the city.”
For many of the teams working to develop their surrounding area, the transaction boils down to one of trading surface parking for mixed-use development. But that’s not true in all situations, particularly on Chicago’s North Side. Ultimately, the difference between the original Camden incarnation and what the Braves have in Cobb County is one of control — who oversees the real estate around the park, what it’s used for and, of course, who benefits from it.
“[The fourth phase] is also about this gradual accretion of other things around the ballpark by the team that suddenly changes the neighborhood,” Goldberger said. “We see that at Wrigley now. Even places as established and seriously embedded into the real city as Wrigley are still now trying to transform the area around it, to make it feel more like some of these other places.”
The power of The Battery — and the model to follow
The Truist/Battery project remains distinctive because of the way it came together, all at once, constructed in unused space amid a confluence of super highways. The stadium, the bars and boutiques around it, the office buildings, the hotels, the residential spaces, the theater — all of it was planned at the outset. This made it not just a rare opportunity from a design standpoint, but it turned the corporate-owned Braves into a real estate developer.
The original project was a public-private partnership between the Braves and Cobb County and let’s be clear: The public aspect of this remains controversial. That’s not what you’ll hear from the Braves, nor the Cobb County government itself, which together tout the success of the project in annual reports.
By now, it’s no secret that the dogma among leading sports economists is that the use of public money to subsidize stadium developments for franchises that are in themselves private entities owned by billionaires is generally not a win for taxpayers. The argument is layered, complex, and often laid out in book form.
That the Braves’ project involved a great deal of adjacent real estate development might or might not alter that calculus. That very question was the subject of a high-visibility debate between two of the leading sports economics experts in the country in 2022.
Still, the reality is that Truist/Battery has been a resounding success — for the Braves.
Some statistics about The Battery provided by the team:
• Nine million visitors per year
• An average of 140 minutes spent by visitors — on non-game days
• 283 non-Braves events held at the development last year (2024)
• 1.675 million square feet of office space, including the current and future corporate headquarters of Comcast, Papa John’s, TK Elevator, Gas South and Truist Securities
• 250,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space
• One mechanical bull (not sure why they threw that in, but you’ve got to love it)
You get the idea. It’s a year-round cash cow.
For now, the Truist/Battery project remains a singular development around baseball. But it, too, evolves, as does Atlanta Braves Holdings, which before the season announced the acquisition of “Pennant Park,” a six-building office complex adjacent to The Battery on the other side of I-75, connected by a pedestrian bridge.
Nothing says success like an expanding footprint.
“Why do we keep expanding?” Braves development company president and CEO Mike Plant asked. “Because the formula continues to work, continues to support our overall mission and overall objectives for our franchise.”
Which means it was only a matter of time before other clubs picked up the baton. The Texas Rangers are the only club to christen a new ballpark since Truist Park arrived in 2017, opening Globe Life Field in 2020 across the street from their old venue, now called Choctaw Stadium and which still, in its post-Rangers existence, looks much more like a baseball park than its successor.
Adjacent and integrated into Arlington’s new park is Texas Live!, a mixed-use district very similar in conception and execution to St. Louis’ Ballpark Village and developments in other markets. This is no accident, as both projects were developed by the Cordish Company and this is what they do.
As in St. Louis, the build-out in Arlington has been gradual and will continue indefinitely. Local officials have said they imagine an increasingly urban feel to a suburban region that has been characterized for decades by the looming presence of the amusement park Six Flags over Texas. Before the season, a Rangers-themed luxury residential development called One Rangers Way was opened.
Is that a neighborhood in the way we really think about what a neighborhood is, in an urban sense? Not really, but it’s early days. The phased approach to ballpark-adjacent development is not exactly what happened in Cobb County, but it is perhaps a more replicable model.
“It all is a little pretend,” Goldberger said. “But all of baseball in some ways is supposed to be a fantasy that is removing you from day-to-day concerns.”
Most of the ballpark-related development that’s actively underway or recently completed in baseball right now fits the phased model, all with some, but not all, elements of the baseball neighborhood that sprang forth in Cobb County.
“You can’t take a scissor and cut this 60-acre lifestyle center out and just plop it somewhere else and have the kind of success that we have,” Plant said. “There’s a lot that goes into creating the opportunity and becoming an opportunity that didn’t exist before.”
The next ballpark villages
It’s happening all over, really. The Phillies are working toward trading in some of their parking expanse for mixed use. The Dodgers tacked on a mini-village to the area of its park beyond center field. The Baltimore Orioles are renovating Camden Yards, and when new owner David Rubenstein was in the process of buying the club, he cited the “opportunity for the team to catalyze development around Camden Yards and in downtown Baltimore.”
The common thread for all of these projects is the funneling of revenue from venue-adjacent property back toward the teams, and to keep it coming year-round. If there is one takeaway from this swift ballpark-related tour around the majors, it’s that these mixed-use developments are going to look a little different in every market. For better or worse.
“Whatever you don’t like about it,” Goldberger said. “It’s still better than a concrete donut surrounded by 20 acres of parking.”
Here are some of the most notable iterations:
St. Louis: Ballpark Village didn’t break ground until 2013 — seven years after the opening of the new Busch Stadium — but it’s been growing ever since. It opened in 2014, beginning with a standard array of food and drink establishments and the Cardinals’ Hall of Fame. Since then, a hotel, an office tower and the 29-story residential building that’s frequently featured on Cardinals broadcasts were added. Subsequent expansion has focused on residential options.
A chief difference between Ballpark Village and The Battery is its location across the street from the playing venue, but on the exact spot where the old stadium was situated. With the rise of Ballpark Village, old staples around the stadium, such as the now-closed Mike Shannon’s Grill, have struggled, though many argue whether Ballpark Village or the COVID-19 pandemic is more to blame.
Still, whereas The Battery and Truist Park were successfully designed to function seamlessly as a unified project, Ballpark Village has the feel of something just kind of dropped into the downtown of a major city. Perhaps that will change over time, especially if the efforts to grow the residential part of the project prove to be successful. But it’s going to take a while.
San Francisco: The Giants partnered with developer Tishman Speyer on the Mission Rock development, which sits directly south of Oracle Park, on the other side of the Lefty O’Doul Bridge that spans the waterway where McCovey Cove meets the Mission Creek Channel. It’s a 28-acre mixed-use, “seven days a week” community taking shape on what was more or less a big expanse of concrete. It is located between the Giants’ venue and the Chase Center, the waterfront arena occupied by the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
When completed, Mission Rock will be a fully-formed European-style neighborhood built with narrow streets and a pedestrian-oriented lifestyle at the forefront. There’s already a park along the water, a couple of open apartment towers and a growing inventory of amenities. On the development timeline, it’s the polar opposite of the Truist/Battery project: Oracle Park opened 25 years ago.
It’s not all milk and honey by the Bay, however. Downtown San Francisco has struggled more than most urban cores since the pandemic and as promising as Mission Rock appears to be — both as a new community and a lode of revenue for the Giants — on other sides of the ballpark there is a proliferation of empty retail spaces. And some have questioned whether the Giants have swung too much of their focus toward real estate development.
New York: Parking and chop shops. For decades, that’s what described the land in Flushing, Queens, around, first, Shea Stadium and, now, Citi Field. That’s changing, and fast.
It’s been a 1½ years since Mets owner Steven Cohen announced plans to develop the area around Citi Field, saying at the time, “There’s nothing going on. The only thing you can do at Citi Field is get your hubcap changed or maybe get back a catalytic converter. The way I would describe it is 50 acres of cement.”
True, but it’s nothing $8 billion of Cohen’s money can’t fix. The to-do list includes revamped park land, high-rise hotels, bars, restaurants, a music venue and various public spaces. The biggest component is a proposed Hard Rock Casino, which moved a step closer to reality last week when the state legislature approved a bill that allows Cohen to repurpose state parkland near Citi Field, on which some of the asphalt sea around the stadium sits.
The project — called Metropolitan Park — will render the old mise-en-scene around Mets baseball unrecognizable. Hurdles remain — the big one being the need for the project to be selected for one of the state’s highly-sought-after gaming licenses. There’s been community pushback as well from those who don’t relish living by a casino. So far, Cohen and his partners have cleared every hurdle.
The project differs from the Truist/Battery development in several ways — location, financing and both the residential component and types of commerce. Metropolitan Park is less a new urban neighborhood and more a new urban sports-themed resort, featuring baseball and a new home next door for MLS’ New York City FC.
Chicago: The most Battery-like notion that’s been floated yet — and perhaps the best opportunity for a team to one-up what the Braves have done — lies on the South Side of Chicago. When you see it, the first thing you think is that it is remarkable that it’s there — 62 acres of a vacuous, abandoned railyard that abuts the Chicago River and sits immediately south of the Chicago Loop. It’s the kind of thing you just don’t expect to find in the heart of a dense major city — land, and lots of it.
For our purposes, the plight of The 78 came onto baseball’s radar last year when news emerged that the Chicago White Sox were exploring the idea of becoming one of the developer Related Midwest’s anchor tenants. The 78 is located 2 miles directly south from where the White Sox have played baseball since 1910. The current park is visible from The 78 on the near horizon.
The renderings are stunning, standing out even in a genre that specializes in producing eye-popping images. The majesty of the Chicago skyline from that southerly vantage point looms over it all.
You see the trademark pinwheels and exploding scoreboard, translated to a futuristic context. You see a riverwalk with docks for water taxis that would ferry you to the game. You see more of the high-rise housing that’s already sprouting up in adjacent sections of the rapidly growing South Loop area.
But flashy renderings are one thing. Pulling off a megaproject like The 78, in a place like the heart of Chicago, is something else. Visits were made to the state capital to pitch the idea. The developers and the team hosted lawmakers on a cruise to the site, but the response was not great, nor are the budget situations at either the city or the state levels.
Later on, one legislator even pitched a bill that would require teams to post at least a .500 record in three out of five years before they could qualify for public financing.
After making quite a splash last year, additional news about the concept had entered a zone of radio silence — until Monday. That’s when Chicago Fire FC owner Joe Mansueto announced plans to build a $650 million privately funded, soccer-only stadium that would occupy the north end of The 78.
Last October, a proposed University of Illinois technology and research hub, which would have served as a co-anchor of The 78 project, pulled out, and the MLS’ Fire emerged as a possible replacement. Related Midwest released a statement to the media at the time that read, “We are actively exploring the co-location of dual stadiums for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Fire, two organizations whose presence at The 78 would align with our vision of creating Chicago’s next great neighborhood.”
All had been quiet on the south Chicago riverfront since, and it’s unclear whether Monday’s news signifies the end of a possible White Sox involvement in The 78.
“Related Midwest first approached the White Sox about building a new ballpark on a piece of property they were developing, and we continue to consider the site as an option,” a team spokesperson said Tuesday in response to an inquiry from WGN. “We believe in Related Midwest’s vision for ‘The 78’ and remain confident the riverfront location could serve as a home to both teams. We continue to have conversations with Related Midwest about the site’s possibilities and opportunities.”
In Chicago, stadium-related headlines had been the sole domain of the constantly flip-flopping Bears, a longtime resident of the South Loop.
Will anything become of The 78-White Sox idea? Right now, that’s impossible to say. What we can say is that the lease on Rate Field expires after the 2029 season. We can also say that anyone who chose to build a baseball-centric ballpark and surrounding neighborhood on that magically vacant parcel of invaluable space would be creating something like The Battery — on steroids.
“It’s drop-dead perfect,” influential sports consultant Marc Ganis told WGN. “What you see they’re trying to create here is a new Wrigleyville South.”
Dream on …
It’s not clear if anyone is going to pull off a fully realized Battery/Truist project in baseball — a new park with its own brand-new neighborhood all at once. It is clear that Goldberger’s fourth phase of ballpark building is well underway. We aren’t likely to see any team float the notion of a stadium — and only a stadium — in the future. The realization of these proposals and their ultimate scale will vary from market to market.
In Atlanta, though, the success is evident.
Baseball Prospectus writer Rob Mains had a long career as a Wall Street equities analyst before moving to a higher calling as a baseball analyst. Old habits die hard though, and he has taken it upon himself to cover the Braves’ quarterly earnings calls.
Mains gave a presentation on those financials at the SABR Analytics Conference in Phoenix during spring training. The takeaway was that the various entities that comprise what we simply know as the “Atlanta Braves” are doing quite well, as a baseball club and as real estate moguls. That latter role pays off around the calendar, even when baseball is not happening, shoring up the bottom line during periods that are fallow for other franchises.
At least for now, Truist Park and The Battery — a dynamic Goldberger described as “urbanoid” in his book — stands alone. It might be the avatar of a new phase in ballpark history, but it is still set apart from other projects that fall under that umbrella.
The audacious plans of team owners will continue, as they always have, but as we’ve seen in Las Vegas, St. Petersburg, Kansas City and, so far, in Chicago, with big plans come big complications.
“I think [The Battery] is replicable, if only because ultimately there is so much money to be made,” Goldberger said. “But it’s not like you have to do the whole thing all at once.”
Which brings us back to a smiling Rob Manfred, on that sunny afternoon in April of 2017, exalting the Braves’ achievement and the buzz that was all around him. He’ll be there again in July, when MLB, Truist Park and The Battery host the All-Star Game.
Clearly, Manfred was right. Truist Park is a model for ballpark development. For now though, it remains more a model of aspiration for other clubs, and less one of reality. Still, make no mistake: While a fully-charged Battery replica might be a longshot in most markets, teams will continue to push to get as much juice as they can get from the land that surrounds them.
“You have to come up with a vast amount of equity and take on a pretty good amount of debt,” Plant said. “So that’s a risk. But it’s also the reward. We felt like we had a good idea of what that risk would be back in 2013. As we sit here in 2025, it’s exceeded our expectations.”
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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