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The Braves are in. The Dodgers are in. The Rays and Orioles are in — and the Brewers and Twins aren’t far behind. Welcome to the stretch run!

With a week and a half left in the season, these teams have locked up their spots in the playoffs — but others still have a lot to play for.

Which of the three AL West teams vying for the division title will come out on top? And which of the five teams battling for a National League wild card — the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Marlins, Reds and Giants — will secure the remaining two slots?

Our expert panel has combined to rank every team in baseball 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 David Schoenfield, Bradford Doolittle, Jesse Rogers and Alden Gonzalez to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.

Week 24 | Second-half preview | Preseason rankings

Record: 97-55

Previous ranking: 1

That ugly sweep to the Marlins after clinching the division title has put the best overall record in jeopardy for the Braves as the Orioles are now breathing down their necks — although, with seven of their final 10 games against the Nationals, the Braves should be able to hold on. With an 11-strikeout performance in a win over the Phillies on Tuesday, Spencer Strider is up to 270 strikeouts, just six short of John Smoltz’s franchise record set in his Cy Young season of 1996. Strider’s 37.9% strikeout percentage is the second highest ever for a starter in a full season, behind only Gerrit Cole’s 39.9% in 2019. — Schoenfield


Record: 95-57

Previous ranking: 2

Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters this week that Jack Flaherty is being shifted to a bullpen role. The switch isn’t necessarily permanent, but even if it’s only a one- or two-game experiment, it’s one worth conducting. With John Means back in the rotation and looking solid, Baltimore has five viable starters, one more than it’ll need in a postseason context. Flaherty has a 6.68 ERA since joining Baltimore at the trade deadline and just wasn’t getting deep enough into games. He has made just five relief appearances in his career, so there isn’t much to go on in terms of his track record in that role. His 1.017 OPS allowed this season in first innings isn’t a great sign, but perhaps his stuff will play up as a reliever. Flaherty’s maximum velocity this season (97.2 mph) ranks in the 78th percentile among qualifying big league hurlers. — Doolittle


Record: 93-58

Previous ranking: 3

The Dodgers won their 90th game and clinched the NL West on Saturday, with 15 games remaining in their regular season. Their focus has since shifted to the playoffs, where their short-handed starting rotation could present problems. But let’s not jump there without appreciating what the Dodgers just did. This, if you remember, was supposed to be a transition year. They took a conservative approach to the offseason in order to create a runway for some of their younger players, and yet they breezed to their 10th division title in 11 years. Their bullpen had the fifth-worst ERA in the majors by the end of June, their rotation has been decimated by injuries all year — in addition to Julio Urias being placed on administrative leave in the wake of domestic violence charges — and yet the Dodgers just keep rolling. It’s truly remarkable. — Gonzalez


Record: 93-60

Previous ranking: 4

The four-game split with Baltimore last week had to register as a letdown in St. Petersburg after Tampa Bay won the first two games of the series. The split leaves the Rays still needing to make up sizable ground in the division race, the winner of which is likely to be the American League’s top seed in the playoffs. Besides the small problem of the Orioles continuing to play championship-caliber baseball is the disparity in remaining schedules. Sandwiched around two games at Fenway Park is a pair of three-game series against a very good Blue Jays team fighting for its postseason life. Meanwhile, the O’s have a four-game set at Cleveland before finishing up with six home contests against last-place teams: Washington and Boston. — Doolittle


Record: 85-68

Previous ranking: 5

Just two weeks ago, Houston manhandled division rival Texas to the tune of 39-10 over three games. The Astros vaulted into the AL West lead during that throttling for the first time this season. With their main weapons back on the field, it very much looked like Houston was situated for a stout defense of its World Series crown. Instead, the Astros have since played sub-.500 baseball and find themselves not just in a no-room-for-error three-team race for the division title, but just one short losing streak away from dropping out of the playoffs altogether. Meanwhile, manager Dusty Baker opted to give Yordan Alvarez a break, saying he didn’t like the way the star slugger looked at the plate or moving on the field. However it shakes out, the Astros’ stretch run looks more interesting than we would have anticipated. — Doolittle


Record: 86-66

Previous ranking: 6

The Brewers are close to securing another division title and playoff spot under manager Craig Counsell as they seem to be peaking at the right time, especially on the mound. Their pitching ranked near the top of the majors in ERA last week — they’ve given up five or more runs just once in their past 12 games. Brandon Woodruff has continued his solid return from injury, compiling a 1.06 ERA over his past five starts that included a complete game shutout followed up by a six-inning stint where he gave up just one run against the Nationals. If Rowdy Tellez and/or Carlos Santana (as a lefty) can get hot next month, Milwaukee could be a dangerous playoff team. — Rogers


Record: 83-69

Previous ranking: 8

The Phillies haven’t won three games in a row since late August as they struggle to officially secure that top wild-card spot. Michael Lorenzen has pitched himself out of the rotation and into the bullpen, so once the Phillies do lock up a playoff spot, it will be fascinating to see who manager Rob Thomson lines up as the next two starters behind Zack Wheeler in a wild-card series. Ranger Suarez has been the best of the rest of late with a 2.86 ERA over his past six starts, although the walk rate has been a little high (16 in 34 2/3 innings). Meanwhile, Kyle Schwarber is up to 45 home runs, following up last year’s 46-homer season. He’s the first player with consecutive 45-homer seasons since Ryan Howard did it with the Phillies in four consecutive seasons from 2006 to 2009. — Schoenfield


Record: 85-67

Previous ranking: 7

With Toronto one of four teams — along with Texas, Houston and Seattle — fighting for three AL playoff berths, it’s easy to fixate on the Jays’ remaining slate, which isn’t an easy one. Toronto’s stretch run consists entirely of AL East rivals: the Yankees and Rays. Both opponents have plenty to play for, with the Rays angling for a division crown and the Yankees trying to extend their epic streak of non-losing seasons. Perhaps more important than the schedule for Toronto is simply trying to figure out what this Jays team is about. Just this month, it has had three winning streaks of at least three games, but the Jays were also swept at home in a crucial four-game series against Texas. So more pertinent than the opponents down the stretch is the question: Which Jays team is going to show up for the most important games of the season? — Doolittle


Record: 84-68

Previous ranking: 10

A streaky second half continued for the Rangers last week as they swept the Blue Jays in a crucial four-game series in Toronto only to lose the next four, including a sweep at the hands of the below-.500 Guardians. Texas’ offense dried up in that series, scoring just six runs over the three games. Mitch Garver had the roughest week — going just 3-for-24 — while Corey Seager wasn’t much better, hitting just .217 over a seven-day span ending on Tuesday. The good news for Texas came in the return of Adolis Garcia from injury. He was out less than two weeks and now is ready for the stretch run — and this up-and-down offense needs him. Now, if their bullpen can lock in, the Rangers might have a chance. Otherwise, it’ll be a long offseason. — Rogers


Record: 84-68

Previous ranking: 9

Let’s give a big shoutout to J.P. Crawford, who has had an outstanding offensive season. Thanks to a .378 OBP and 50 extra-base hits, Crawford ranks seventh in the AL in offensive WAR. (Offensive WAR includes a positional adjustment, so it doesn’t mean Crawford has been the fifth-best hitter; he’s not in the top 10 in runs created, although he does rank right outside the top 10 in OPS+). Crawford has added more power, pulling the ball with authority much more often, but he works the strike zone better than any Mariners hitter in a long time with 88 walks and a low chase rate. — Schoenfield


Record: 81-72

Previous ranking: 12

As the Twins turn their attention to ending their record 18-game postseason losing streak, it’s a mystery what their postseason lineup might look like. Byron Buxton’s injuries are an old story, but it’s still possible he could be patrolling center field in October. Carlos Correa, meanwhile, hit the IL because of a worsening case of plantar fasciitis. He, too, might be back in time for the playoffs. Finally, breakout third baseman Royce Lewis turned up with a hamstring problem and is headed for an MRI to determine the extent of the issue. All of these players are now suspended in postseason limbo. Needless to say, Minnesota’s chances of finally getting a playoff win look a whole lot better with this trio than without it. — Doolittle


Record: 81-72

Previous ranking: 13

The way the D-backs navigated through last week served as a perfect encapsulation of how wacky and unpredictable the wild-card races have been this year. They lost three straight to the lowly Mets, with the Cubs on tap, set to match up the top of their rotation against the back end of Arizona’s. It seemed as if the D-backs were destined to fade down the stretch. Instead, they swept the Cubs over the weekend, vaulting into the second wild-card spot.

“We’re trying to win out,” D-backs first baseman Christian Walker said after Sunday’s game. “We want to give ourselves a no-doubt chance, and we understand how hard it is and how quickly things change.” Do they ever. — Gonzalez


Record: 79-73

Previous ranking: 11

A 1-5 road trip crushed the Cubs’ chances of winning the division or hosting a wild-card series, but they’re still in decent position to make the postseason. Cody Bellinger’s slump has coincided with the team’s issues scoring runs. He has slugged just .308 over a recent 10-game span in which the Cubs went 2-8. A weekend series sweep by fellow NL wild-card contender Arizona really hurt, too, as the Cubs lost all three games while pitching their top two starters and the Diamondbacks were missing both Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. Marcus Stroman has returned from a rib cartilage injury and will pitch out of the bullpen. With Michael Fulmer and closer Adbert Alzolay on the IL, Stroman could get some meaningful innings down the stretch. — Rogers


Record: 79-74

Previous ranking: 16

A weekend demolition of the Braves kept the Marlins in the thick of the wild-card race. They scored 36 runs in the three-game sweep as Jazz Chisholm became the first Marlins player with grand slams in consecutive games and Luis Arraez ripped out eight hits, including three home runs. With an off-day on Thursday and another one on Monday, the Marlins will also be able to bypass a couple of starts from the bottom of the rotation, and a concluding six-game road trip against the Mets and Pirates isn’t the toughest of final weeks. Miami has a good shot at its first full-season playoff berth since 2003. — Schoenfield


Record: 79-75

Previous ranking: 14

The Reds are hanging around the playoff race and could make a push in the final week, considering their final eight games come against teams below .500. However, they haven’t had a late-season defining stretch just yet. After getting swept by the Cardinals recently, they won their next two series and took Game 1 against the Twins on Monday before losing on Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s been that kind of back-and-forth for them for quite some time. The team’s waiver claims haven’t exactly panned out, either, as Harrison Bader is on the IL and Hunter Renfroe was DFA’d this week. Bader hit .161 over 14 games for the Reds, who will have to rely on their young players to reach the postseason. The return of Matt McLain from an oblique injury will help. — Rogers


Record: 76-76

Previous ranking: 18

Spoilers is not a role that you’d traditionally associate with the Yankees, but that’s where they’re at. New York’s homestretch includes a number of games against teams engaged in close battles to get into the postseason — Arizona and AL East rival Toronto. When you tack on the Yankees’ quest to avoid their first losing record since 1992, New York’s remaining schedule will have a little drama around it. The quest for .500 is likely to come down to the final weekend when the Bombers finish their season with a three-game series against the triple-digit-losing Royals. It’s not likely to conjure old memories of George Brett against Goose Gossage but, hey, you never know. — Doolittle


Record: 76-76

Previous ranking: 15

The Giants lost for the 11th time this month on Tuesday night, but the biggest blow occurred in the third inning, when Alex Cobb exited with discomfort in his hip. The next day, he was placed on the IL, essentially ending his season. The regular season, at least. Cobb has put up a 3.87 ERA in 151 1/3 innings this year, joining Logan Webb as the only reliable, consistent starters in the Giants’ staff. On the night he went down, the Giants dropped to three games out of the final wild-card spot with three teams in front of them. Their path just got a lot more difficult. — Gonzalez


Record: 75-78

Previous ranking: 17

With Triston Casas joining Jarren Duran on the IL, and Boston searching for its next roster architect, it’s hard to look at the current Red Sox group with an eye toward the future. One player who will be there going forward is Masataka Yoshida, who’s wrapping up his first MLB campaign. He has mostly been as advertised, which is a tepid observation. He has hit for a decent average but displayed limited patience and only occasional power. It’s an overall above-average hitting profile. The problem is that Yoshida can’t run and that limits his value in the field and on the bases. The bottom line: He’s at just 1.0 bWAR as the season winds down. — Doolittle


Record: 75-78

Previous ranking: 19

With a 10-1 rout over the lowly A’s on Sunday, the Padres became the last team in the majors to win a fourth consecutive game. They proceeded to win their next three, running their winning streak to seven games and counting, which begs the question: Where was this earlier? Recent surge aside, the Padres find themselves 4 1/2 games out of a playoff spot with four teams to jump and only nine games remaining in their season. They could make this really, really interesting if they win out, but in all likelihood this will end up as one final tease before the conclusion of a thoroughly disappointing season. Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove have been shut down, Manny Machado has been relegated to DH duties because of a balky elbow, and the Padres, helped by a soft schedule at the end, are probably too late. — Gonzalez


Record: 72-81

Previous ranking: 20

Cleveland outfielders have combined for 18 home runs — more than 20 fewer than any other team — after hitting 28 last season (which wasn’t the lowest in the majors; Tigers outfielders hit 23). The last outfield with fewer than 20 home runs: the 1992 White Sox, featuring Tim Raines and Lance Johnson, who hit 19. The 1989 Astros hit 18, and the last team with fewer than 18 was the 1976 White Sox with 17. This blurb has been brought to you by Cleveland Public Power. — Schoenfield


Record: 71-81

Previous ranking: 22

One Tiger who wishes the season wasn’t going to end for Detroit in a couple of weeks is second-year slugger Spencer Torkelson — the former top overall pick is building the most sustained momentum of his young career. Since the All-Star break, Torkelson has hit .237/.319/.509 with 17 homers in 62 games. The pace has picked up even more in September, during which he’s at .265/.320/.544. Since the trade deadline, Torkelson’s OPS ranks in the top 30 of the majors. Going forward, one split you’d like to see ironed out in Torkelson’s profile is his awkward home/road disparity. So far as a big leaguer, Torkelson has a .790 road OPS but just .604 at Comerica Park where, you know, he plays half his games. — Doolittle


Record: 71-81

Previous ranking: 23

For all New York’s disappointing results this season, Kodai Senga has been one of the few Mets who has matched expectations — if not exceeded them. With a 2.95 ERA and 191 strikeouts in 155 1/3 innings, he’ll get some down-ballot Cy Young votes. Coming over from Japan, where pitchers normally start once per week, he was handled carefully by the Mets, as he has made just three starts on four days of rest. The ghost forkball has been as advertised and rates as one of the best wipeout pitches in MLB, as batters have hit .112 against it with no home runs and 104 strikeouts in 177 PAs that end with that pitch (through Tuesday). — Schoenfield


Record: 69-83

Previous ranking: 21

On Friday afternoon, Anthony Rendon revealed he has been dealing with a tibia fracture, a diagnosis — from a fifth doctor of his own choosing — that ran in contrast with the Angels’ description of a deep bone bruise over these past two months. Later that night, media returned to the clubhouse to find that Shohei Ohtani’s locker had been cleared out, the product, we learned the following day, of him shutting it down as a hitter and shifting his focus to elbow surgery. Mike Trout, meanwhile, is running out of time in his hopes of returning from the hamate fracture he suffered in early July.

The Angels are a mess of epic proportions, as illustrated by the state of their best players. Ohtani is heading toward free agency, Trout has struggled mightily to stay healthy these past three years, and Rendon’s contract, with $114 million remaining over the next three years, feels untenable. The Angels, meanwhile, have secured their eighth consecutive losing season, the longest streak in franchise history. — Gonzalez


Record: 71-81

Previous ranking: 24

The Pirates have not mailed it in down the stretch. After beating the Nationals three straight times last week, they played the Yankees tough in a series loss, getting outscored only 15-10 over the three games. They’ve pitched well over that timeframe, compiling an ERA just under 4.00 for the week ending on Tuesday. Once again, it was righty Mitch Keller leading the way. He tossed eight shutout innings in a 2-0 win against the Nats. It came after a blowup against the vaunted Braves offense. Take that game away and, much like the whole year, Keller has been fantastic in the final weeks of the season. He’s the unquestioned ace of the team moving forward. — Rogers


Record: 67-85

Previous ranking: 25

Adam Wainwright’s 200th win was a thing of beauty. He made it through seven innings on Monday while giving up four hits and two walks in a tight affair with the Brewers. Nursing a 1-0 lead most of the way, his curveball showed its old life, especially in the later innings when it looked like the veteran would not be denied. In the process, he surpassed 100 innings on the season over 21 starts. The 41-year-old is retiring after compiling a 7.40 ERA in 2023, but he’ll have his last outing in St. Louis as a lasting memory: a 1-0 win to secure No. 200. — Rogers


Record: 68-85

Previous ranking: 26

Jackson Rutledge, the 6-foot-8 right-hander who was the team’s first-round pick in 2019, had an up-and-down career in the minors with injuries and inconsistent results. After posting a 3.71 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A, the Nationals are giving him a look down the stretch. His MLB debut was rough as he allowed 10 hits and seven runs in 3 2/3 innings, but he bounced back against the White Sox, allowing two runs (both home runs) in 6 1/3 innings. His fastball has averaged 95 mph, but he’ll need to improve the changeup to give him another off-speed weapon. Batters are 8-for-16 against it with two home runs. He’s probably more of a deep rotation option for next season. — Schoenfield


Record: 58-95

Previous ranking: 27

Surprisingly, Mike Clevinger has been the team’s second most valuable — and consistent — player after Luis Robert Jr. His latest start was his best as he pitched a complete game against the Nationals on Monday, coming within one out of a shutout. It was the White Sox’s first complete game of the season and Clevinger’s third of his career. His 3.42 ERA over 22 starts would rank seventh in the AL if not for an early-season injury that prevents him from qualifying. He and the team have a mutual option for next season, but Clevinger isn’t likely to exercise his end of it. In a miserable season in Chicago, he has been very good. — Rogers


Record: 56-96

Previous ranking: 28

The Rockies are barreling toward their first 100-loss season in franchise history, but there has been one very clear bright spot lately — Nolan Jones, the rookie outfielder acquired in a swap of young position players with the Guardians last November, has slashed .286/.374/.524 in 96 games since his call-up in late May, hitting 17 home runs and stealing 17 bases. He’s the first rookie in franchise history to accumulate at least 15 homers and 15 steals in the same season, and he has a shot at 20/20 despite spending most of the first two months in the minor leagues. Two Mondays ago, he also recorded the fastest outfield assist of 2023. — Gonzalez


Record: 51-102

Previous ranking: 29

With Salvador Perez suffering a concussion and Freddy Fermin fracturing his finger, the Royals have two of the unlikeliest major leaguers of 2023 in catchers Logan Porter and Tyler Cropley. Porter, a former clubhouse attendant for the Royals’ rookie league team in Arizona, was signed out of Utah Tech in 2018 — with the idea that he would be a bullpen catcher. The Royals told him he might never get in a game — but he did. He hit .301 in the minors in 2022 and .232 this year in Triple-A before getting called up and hitting his first home run on Sept. 16. Cropley, meanwhile, began 2023 in Double-A … as the bullpen catcher. He was called up Sept. 9, but he didn’t get in a game and was designated for assignment two days later. Those injuries to Perez and Fermin gave Cropley another chance, and he started on Tuesday and went 1-for-3 with a sac fly. — Schoenfield


Record: 46-106

Previous ranking: 30

The A’s lost for the sixth straight time and for the 105th time this season on Tuesday night, but a stray dog also wandered into the visiting dugout and made friends with Mariners shortstop Crawford. That was sweet. It was a rose sprouting from concrete, a reminder that beauty can manifest itself anywhere, even within a sewage dump. One just has to actively seek it out. So, remember — there’s beauty somewhere in this miserable A’s season. If you figure out where it is, please let us know. We could all use some positivity. — Gonzalez

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

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

We’re past due to hand out some midseason grades, so let’s hand out some midseason grades.

As we pass the 90-game mark in the 2025 MLB season, my team of the first half isn’t the well-rounded Detroit Tigers, who do get our highest grade for owning MLB’s best record, or the explosive Chicago Cubs or Shohei Ohtani‘s Los Angeles Dodgers, but a team most baseball fans love to hate: the Houston Astros. They lost their two best players from last season and their best hitter has been injured — and they’re playing their best baseball since they won the 2022 World Series.

Let’s get to the grades. As always, we’re grading off preseason expectations, factoring in win-loss record and quality of performance, while looking at other positive performances and injuries.

Jump to a team:

AL East: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
AL Central: CHW | CLE | DET | KC | MIN
AL West: ATH | HOU | LAA | SEA | TEX

NL East: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH
NL Central: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL
NL West: ARI | COL | LAD | SD | SF

Tarik Skubal is obviously the headline act, but the Tigers are winning with impressive depth across the entire roster.

Javier Baez is putting together a remarkable comeback season after a couple of abysmal years and will become the first player to start an All-Star Game at both shortstop and in the outfield. Former No. 1 overall picks Casey Mize and Spencer Torkelson have put together their own comeback stories, while Riley Greene has matured into one of the game’s top power hitters.

Given their deep well of prospects and contributors at the MLB level, no team is better positioned than the Tigers to add significant help at the trade deadline.


I heard someone refer to them as the Zombie Astros, which feels apropos. Alex Bregman left as a free agent, they traded Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez has been injured and has just three home runs, and the Jose Altuve experiment in left field predictably fizzled.

But here they are, fighting for the best record in the majors and holding a comfortable lead in the AL West. They’re getting star turns from Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez and Jeremy Pena, while the risky decision to start Cam Smith in the majors with very little minor league experience has paid off, as he has now become their cleanup hitter.

If we ignore the COVID-19 season, the Astros look on their way to an eighth straight division title.


This could be at least a half-grade higher based on everything that has gone right: Pete Crow-Armstrong‘s attention-grabbing breakout, Tucker doing everything expected after the big trade, Seiya Suzuki‘s monster power numbers and Matthew Boyd‘s All-Star turn in the rotation. The Cubs are on pace for their most wins since their World Series title season in 2016.

There have been a few hiccups, however, especially in the rotation with Justin Steele‘s season-ending injury and Ben Brown‘s inconsistency, plus rookie third baseman Matt Shaw has scuffled, and the bench has been weak aside from their backup catchers.

Still, this is a powerhouse lineup, and the Cubs will seek to improve their rotation at the deadline.


They just keep winning of late, going from 25-27 and seven games behind the Yankees on May 25 to taking over first place from the slumping Bronx Bombers, a remarkable turnaround over just 36 games. They went 27-9 over a 36-game stretch ending with their eighth win in a row on Sunday.

George Springer‘s recent surge has been fun to watch, a reminder of how good he was at his peak, and Addison Barger has been mashing over the past two months.

Some of the stats don’t add up to the Blue Jays being this good — they’ve barely outscored their opponents — but there might be more offense in the tank from the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a healthy Anthony Santander, and the bullpen, a soft spot, is the easiest area to upgrade.


Their success is best summed up by the fact that Freddy Peralta is their lone All-Star, but they have a whole bunch of players who have contributed between 1 and 2 WAR.

Brandon Woodruff looked good Sunday in his first start in nearly two years, so that could be a huge boost for the second half.

I’m curious to see how Jackson Chourio performs as well. While his counting stats — extra-base hits, RBIs — are fine, his triple-slash line remains below last season, especially his OBP. He had a huge second half in 2024 (.310/.363/.552), and if he does that again, the Brewers could find themselves back in the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons.


The Rays started off slow, with a losing record through the end of April, but then went 33-22 in May and June to claw back into the AL East race — as the Rays usually do, last year being the recent exception.

Two key performers have been All-Star third baseman Junior Caminero, who has a chance to become just the third player to hit 40 home runs in his age-21 season, and All-Star first baseman Jonathan Aranda.

Due to the league wanting the Rays to play more home games early in the season, the July and August slate will be very road-heavy, so we’ll see how the Rays adapt to a difficult two-month stretch, especially since their pitching isn’t quite as deep as it has been in other seasons.


No, they’re not going to be the greatest team of all time. But they might win 100 games — even though Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, their huge offseason acquisitions, have combined for just two wins in 10 starts.

The lineup, of course, has been terrific, with Ohtani leading the NL in several categories and Will Smith leading the batting race. By wRC+, it’s been the best offense in Dodgers history.

If they can get some combo of Snell, Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow healthy, plus Ohtani eventually ramped up to a bigger workload on the mound, the Dodgers still loom as World Series favorites.


They are on pace for 95 wins, mainly on the strength of Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez, who are a combined 23-7 with 11.8 WAR. Jesus Luzardo‘s ERA is bloated due to that two-start stretch when he allowed 20 runs, but he has otherwise been solid as well.

But, overall, it hasn’t always been the smoothest of treks. The bullpen has imploded a few times and the offense has lacked power aside from Kyle Schwarber. Bryce Harper is back after missing three weeks, and they need to get his bat going. Look for some bullpen additions at the trade deadline — and perhaps an outfielder as well.


The Cardinals have been a minor surprise — perhaps even to the Cardinals themselves. St. Louis was viewing this as a rebuilding year of sorts — not that the Cardinals ever hit rock bottom and start completely over. They had a hot May, winning 12 of 13 at one point, but the offense has been fading of late, with those three straight shutout losses to Pittsburgh and six shutout losses since June 25.

The starting rotation doesn’t generate a lot of swing and miss, with both Erick Fedde and Miles Mikolas seeing their ERAs starting to climb. Brendan Donovan is the team’s only All-Star rep, and that kind of sums up this team: solid but without any star power. That might foretell a second-half fade.


All-Star starting pitchers Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, plus a dominant bullpen, have led the way, although after starting 12-4, the Giants have basically been a .500 team for close to three months now. Rafael Devers hasn’t yet ignited the offense since coming over from Boston, and the Giants have lost four 1-0 games.

These final three games at home against the Dodgers before the All-Star break will be a crucial series, as Los Angeles has slowly pulled away in the NL West.


This was an “A-plus” through June 12, when the Mets were 45-24 and owned the best record in baseball, even though Juan Soto hadn’t gotten hot. Soto finally got going in June, but the pitching collapsed, and the Mets went through a disastrous 1-10 stretch.

The rotation injuries have piled up, exacerbating the lack of bullpen depth. Recent games have been started by Justin Hagenman (who had a 6.21 ERA in Triple-A), journeyman reliever Chris Devenski, Paul Blackburn (7.71 ERA) and Frankie Montas, who has had to start even though he’s clearly not throwing the ball well. The Mets need to get the rotation healthy, but also could use more offense from Mark Vientos and their catchers (Francisco Alvarez was demoted to Triple-A).


At times it has felt like Cal Raleigh has been a one-man team with his record-breaking first half. But he will be joined on the All-Star squad by starting pitcher Bryan Woo, closer Andres Munoz and center fielder Julio Rodriguez, who made it on the strength of his defense, as his offense has been a disappointment.

The offense has been one of the best in the majors on the road, but the rotation has been nowhere near as effective as the past couple of seasons, with George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller all missing time with injuries. They just shut out the Pirates three games in a row, so maybe that will get the rotation on a roll.


They’re just out of the wild-card picture while hanging around .500, so we give them a decent grade since that exceeds preseason expectations. It feels like a little bit of a mirage given their run differential — their record in one-run games (good) versus their record in blowout games (not good) — and various holes across the lineup and pitching staff.

But they’ve done two things to keep them in the race. One, they hit a lot of home runs. Two, they’re the only team in the majors to use just five starting pitchers. The rotation hasn’t been stellar, but it’s been stable.


The Padres are probably fortunate to be where they are, given some of their issues. As expected, the offensive depth has been a problem.

Not as expected, Dylan Cease has struggled while Michael King‘s injury after a strong start has left them without last year’s dynamic 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation (although Nick Pivetta has been one of the best signings of the offseason). Yu Darvish just made his season debut Monday, so hopefully he’ll provide a lift.

The Padres haven’t played well against the better teams, including a 2-5 record against the Dodgers, but they did clean up against the Athletics, Rockies and Pirates, going 16-2 against those three teams.


For now, the Reds are stuck in neutral. Leave out 2022, when they lost 100 games, and it’s otherwise been a string of .500-ish seasons: 31-29 in 2020, 83-79 in 2021, 82-80 in 2023, 77-85 in 2024 and now a similar record so far in 2025.

The hope was that Terry Francona would be a difference-maker. Maybe that will play out down the stretch, but the best hope is to get the rotation clicking on all cylinders at the same time. That means Andrew Abbott continuing his breakout performance, plus getting Hunter Greene healthy again and rookie Chase Burns to live up to the hype after a couple of shaky outings following an impressive MLB debut.

Throw in Nick Lodolo and solid Nick Martinez and Brady Singer, and this group can be good enough to pitch the Reds to their first full-season playoff appearance since 2013.


The Yankees have hit their annual midseason swoon — which has been subject to much intense analysis from their disgruntled fans — and that opening weekend sweep of the Brewers, when the Yankees’ torpedo bats were the big story in baseball, now seems long ago.

Going from seven up to three back in such a short time is a disaster — but not disastrous. Nonetheless, the Yankees will have to do some hard-core self-evaluation heading to the trade deadline.

The offense wasn’t going to be as good as it was in April, when Paul Goldschmidt, Trent Grisham and Ben Rice were all playing over their heads. So, do they need a hitter? Or with Clarke Schmidt now likely joining Gerrit Cole as a Tommy John casualty, do they need a starting pitcher? Or both?


From the book of “things we didn’t expect,” page 547: The Marlins are averaging more runs per game than the Orioles, Padres, Braves and Rangers, to name a few teams. They’re averaging almost as many runs per game as the Mets, and last time we checked, the Marlins weren’t the team to give Soto $765 million.

An eight-game winning streak at the end of June has the Marlins going toe-to-toe with the Braves for third place in the NL East even though the starting rotation has been a mess, with Sandy Alcantara on track to become just the fourth qualified pitcher with an ERA over 7.00.


Heading into the season, I thought that if any team was going to challenge the Dodgers in the NL West, it would be the Diamondbacks. The offense has once again been one of the best in the majors, but the pitching issues have been painful.

After the aggressive move to sign Corbin Burnes, he went down with Tommy John surgery after 11 starts. Meanwhile, Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt each have an ERA on the wrong side of 5.00. Rodriguez was better in June before a shellacking on July 4, while Gallen remains homer-prone, so it’s hard to tell if improvement is on the horizon. Their playoff odds are hovering just under 20%, so there’s a chance, but they need to get red-hot like they did last July and August.


It feels like it has been more soap opera than baseball season in Boston, with the Devers drama finally ending with the shocking trade with the Giants.

If you give added weight that this is the Red Sox, a team that should be operating with the big boys in both budget and aspirations and instead seemed to only want to dump Devers’ contract, then feel free to lower this grade a couple of notches, even if the Red Sox are close in the wild-card standings.

On the field, the heralded rookie trio of Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer hasn’t exactly clicked, with Campbell returning to the minors after posting a .902 OPS in April. A big test will come out of the All-Star break, when they play the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, Twins and Astros in a tough 15-game stretch.


After last season’s surprise playoff appearance, it’s been a frustrating 2025 — although I’m not sure this result is necessarily a surprise.

There were concerns about the offense heading into the season and those concerns have proven correct. They were getting no production from their outfield, so they rushed Jac Caglianone to the majors to much hype, but he has struggled and might need a reset back in Triple-A. Even Bobby Witt Jr., as good as he has been (on pace for 7.5 WAR), has seen his OPS drop 140 points.

On the bright side, Kris Bubic emerged as an All-Star starter and Noah Cameron has filled in nicely for the injured Cole Ragans, so maybe they trade a starter for some offense.


Coming off a catastrophic 2024 season, nobody was expecting anything from the White Sox. Indeed, another 121-loss season loomed as a possibility. While they’re on pace to lose 100 again, they’ve at least played more competitive baseball thanks to their pitching.

Rookie starters Shane Smith and Sean Burke have shown promise, while rookie position players Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero and now Colson Montgomery are getting their initial taste of the majors.

There has been the mix of calamity: Luis Robert Jr. has been unproductive and is probably now untradable, and former No. 3 overall pick Andrew Vaughn hit .189 and was traded to the Brewers.


The Twins are one organization that might like a do-over of the past five seasons. It feels like they’ve had the most talent in the division, but all they’ve done is squeeze out one soft division title in 2023. Now, the Tigers have passed them in talent and other factors, such as payroll flexibility.

There’s still time for the Twins to turn things around in 2025, but outside of that wonderful 13-game winning streak, they haven’t played winning baseball.


Overall, it’s been yet another bad season, despite Paul Skenes‘ brilliance. Really, do we talk enough about him? Yes, we do talk about him, but he has a 1.95 ERA through his first 42 career starts. Incredible.

Here’s an amazing thing about baseball. The Pirates are not a good team, but they recently put together one of the best six-game stretches in history. That’s not stretching the description. First, they swept the Mets — a good team — by scores of 9-1, 9-2 and 12-1. Then they swept the Cardinals — a good team — with three shutouts, 7-0, 1-0 and 5-0. They became the first team since at least 1901 to score 43 runs or more and allow four runs or fewer in a six-game stretch. And then they promptly got shut out three games in a row, making them the first to win three straight shutouts and then lose three straight shutouts.


Eighteen of our 28 voters picked them to win the AL West before the season, but it’s looking more and more like the 2023 World Series might be a stone-cold fluke in the middle of a string of losing seasons. That year, nearly everyone in the lineup had a career year at the plate, and the pitching got hot at the right time.

This year’s Rangers, though, have struggled to score runs, and while some have pointed to the offensive environment at Globe Life Field, they’re near the bottom in road OPS as well. It’s been fun seeing Jacob deGrom back at a dominating level, and Nathan Eovaldi should have been an All-Star.

Put it this way: If the Rangers can somehow squeeze into the postseason, you don’t want to face the Rangers in a short series. Indeed, if any team looms as an October upset special, it might be the Rangers.


The Nationals received superlative first-half performances from James Wood and MacKenzie Gore, while CJ Abrams is on the way to his best season. But there remains a lack of overall organizational progress, which finally led to the firings on Sunday of longtime GM Mike Rizzo and longtime manager Dave Martinez. A 7-19 record in June sealed their fate, as the rotation has been bad and the bullpen arguably the worst in baseball.

Until the Nationals figure out how to improve their pitching — or, better yet, find an owner who wants to win — they will be stuck going nowhere.


That fell apart in a hurry. Sunday’s loss was Cleveland’s 10th in a row, a stretch that remarkably included five shutouts. Indeed, the Guardians have now been shut out 11 times; the franchise record in the post-dead-ball-era (since 1920) is 20 shutouts in 1968.

There’s nothing worse than watching a team that can’t score runs, so that tells you how exciting the Guardians have been. Last year, the Guardians hit exceptionally well with runners in scoring position, keeping afloat what was otherwise a mediocre offense. That hasn’t happened in 2025 (trading Josh Naylor didn’t help either). Throw in some predictable regression from the bullpen, and this season looks lost.


We can’t give this a complete failing grade due to the emergence of All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson (the Athletics’ first All-Star starter since Josh Donaldson in 2014) and slugging first baseman Nick Kurtz, who have a chance to finish 1-2 in the Rookie of the Year voting. Plus, we have Denzel Clarke‘s circus catches in center field.

But otherwise? Ugh. The Sacramento gamble already looks like a disaster, three months into a three-year stay. The team is drawing well below Sutter Health Park’s 14,000-seat capacity, with many recent games drawing under 10,000 fans. Luis Severino bashed the small crowds and the lack of air-conditioning.

The A’s had a groundbreaking ceremony for their new park in Vegas, renting heavy construction equipment as background props. Maybe they should have spent that money on more pitching help.


Based on preseason expectations, the Braves have clearly been the biggest disappointment in the National League — fighting the Orioles for most disappointing overall.

What’s gone wrong? They haven’t scored runs, as the offense continues its remarkable fade from a record-setting performance just two seasons ago. The collapses of Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies lead the way, with lack of production at shortstop and left field playing a big role as well. Closer Raisel Iglesias has struggled, and the team is 11-22 in one-run games. Spencer Strider hasn’t yet reached his pre-injury level and Reynaldo Lopez made just one start before going down.

The Braves haven’t missed the playoffs since 2017, but that run is clearly in jeopardy.


The Orioles have a similar record to the Braves but have played much worse, including losses of 24-2, 19-5, 15-3 and two separate 9-0 shutouts.

They will spend the trade deadline dealing away as many of their impending free agents as possible, and then do a lot of soul-searching heading into the offseason. After making the playoffs in 2023 and 2024, will this season just be a blip? While the pitching struggles aren’t necessarily a big surprise, what has happened to the offense? Are some of their young players prospects or suspects?


After two months of Cleveland Spiders-level baseball, it would be easy to make fun of the Rockies. Especially since they recently announced Walker Monfort — son of the owner — was promoted to executive VP and will replace outgoing president and COO Greg Feasel.

On the other hand, the Rockies are doing something right: They just drew 121,000 for a three-game series against the White Sox.

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Ramirez, Brown out of ASG; McKinstry among subs

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Ramirez, Brown out of ASG; McKinstry among subs

The Detroit Tigers have the best record in the majors. Now they are tied for having the most All-Stars, too.

Zach McKinstry was picked Wednesday to replace Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena, who has been dealing with a rib injury. The infielder-outfielder will join Detroit second baseman Gleyber Torres and outfielders Javier Baez and Riley Greene — all AL starters — and staff ace Tarik Skubal, who also is among the candidates to start the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta.

The five All-Stars for Detroit is tied for the most with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who have DH Shohei Ohtani, catcher Will Smith and first baseman Freddie Freeman starting for the NL along with pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw.

Yamamoto is scheduled to start Sunday for Los Angeles, so Cincinnati Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott has been picked to replace him.

Meanwhile, Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes was chosen for the AL team in place of starting third baseman Jose Ramírez, the seven-time All-Star who wants to spend the week rehabbing an Achilles injury; Twins right-hander Joe Ryan was selected as the replacement for Astros pitcher Hunter Brown; and Brewers closer Trevor Megill was added to the NL team in place of teammate Freddy Peralta, their scheduled starter for Sunday’s game.

The shuffling of replacements gives the Astros four All-Stars in Paredes, Peña, Brown and pitcher Josh Hader. The Brewers have two in Megill and Peralta. And the Twins have two with Ryan joining two-time All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton.

“This was the goal in the offseason,” said Megill, who struck out Freeman, Andy Pages and Tommy Edman in order in the 10th inning to secure the Brewers’ 3-2 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday. “Just worked my butt off for it, and here we are.”

Ramírez was hit by a pitch in a game against Toronto on June 26 and has struggled at the plate since. The seven-time All-Star was still hitting .299 with 16 homers, 44 RBIs and 24 stolen bases through 87 games for the Guardians.

“Everybody wants to go to the All-Star Game and especially for the support from the fans,” Ramírez said. “But I feel the best thing for the team is to be able to be resting (those) days and be able to contribute to the team in the second half.”

McKinstry, Paredes, Megill and Ryan make six total replacements and 71 players between the two All-Star teams. The other substitution was Rays third baseman Junior Caminero for Boston‘s Alex Bregman, who has been dealing with a strained right quadriceps.

The Tigers have been one of the surprise stories of the first half of the season. After going 86-76 and tying for second in the AL Central last season, they were 59-34 through Tuesday — the best record in the majors.

Along with playing every infield position besides catcher, and both corner outfield spots, McKinstry entered Wednesday hitting .283 with seven homers and 27 RBIs. The 30-year-old needs just three more homers and nine RBIs to set career highs.

Peña, who is hitting a career-best .322 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs in 82 games for the Astros, has been out since June 28 with a fractured rib. He had hoped to return by the All-Star break, but he has not been cleared to resume baseball activity.

Paredes, his teammate, is headed to his second straight All-Star Game in his first season in Houston. He’s hitting a career-best .255 with 19 homers and 49 RBIs for the Astros, who lead the AL West.

“My main focus is to work hard for the team and be able to give the most I can for the team,” Paredes said, “but as you can see now with the results that I’m getting … those results allow me to get to the All-Star Game, so it feels good.”

Megill earned his first career All-Star selection by going 2-2 with a 2.41 ERA, 21 saves and 43 strikeouts in 33⅔ innings.

The 29-year-old Ryan, whose name has surfaced in plenty of trade talk recently, was one of the biggest snubs when the initial All-Star Game rosters were announced. The right-hander is 8-4 with a career-best 2.76 ERA across 18 starts, and he’s struck out 116 against just 21 walks over 104 1/3 innings for the Twins.

“The last couple years, I’ve had really good numbers at voting, then I’ve kind of scuttled the last two outings or so. I can see why optically it might not look as good,” Ryan said. “But putting it together, it was kind of a shock not to be in (this year).

“At the same time, there’s so many good pitchers in the league right now. You’ve just got to hang with them and if you don’t like it, play better. That was kind of the mindset I was trying to shift into, but to get the news and be excited to go, it makes everything kind of go away and you just think about the future and going forward.”

The Associated Press and FIeld Level Media contributed to this report.

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Yankees DFA LeMahieu after ‘hard conversations’

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Yankees DFA LeMahieu after 'hard conversations'

NEW YORK — The Yankees designated two-time batting champion DJ LeMahieu for assignment Wednesday, presumably ending the infielder’s seven-year tenure with the organization despite being owed $22 million through next season.

“Tough decisions,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “In the end, it ultimately comes down to how this roster sits and what’s best. You want to provide your manager with enough chess moves to deal with on a day-in and day-out basis in-game.”

Manager Aaron Boone explained that the move resulted from “an evolving conversation” in recent days that included multiple meetings with LeMahieu, a respected veteran in the Yankees’ clubhouse.

It comes a day after Boone announced that Jazz Chisholm Jr. would shift back to playing second base every day from third base, bumping LeMahieu from the team’s everyday second baseman to a bench role. Boone acknowledged LeMahieu took the demotion “not necessarily great” but emphasized that LeMahieu did not ask for his release.

“It’s been a tough couple of days,” Boone said. “Some hard conversations. And then ultimately coming to this decision, conclusion, obviously not easy for [who’s] been a great player. He’s done a lot of great things for this organization. So, difficult, but at the end [we] feel like this is the right thing to do at this time.”

LeMahieu, who turns 37 on Sunday, batted .266 with a .674 OPS in 45 games this season after starting the season on the injured list with a strained calf. He has been better since June 1, hitting .310 with a .754 OPS in 96 plate appearances as the Yankees’ primary second baseman, but Cashman ultimately decided the production wasn’t enough to offset his defensive liabilities.

The Yankees signed LeMahieu to a six-year, $90 million contract before the 2021 season — fresh off LeMahieu hitting .364 during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign to become the first player to win a batting title in both leagues in the modern era — envisioning him as an everyday utility player bouncing between infield positions.

LeMahieu made 36 of his 55 starts last season at third base before going on the injured list in early September with a right hip impingement for the remainder of the year. That injury, according to Cashman, inhibited LeMahieu’s ability to play third base, and led to LeMahieu informing him that he couldn’t physically handle playing the position anymore.

“He was always just sharing that the recovery was really difficult,” Cashman said. “The physical toll on him to tee up at that position was a problem and so therefore that position is a problem.”

The limitation was cemented during spring training when LeMahieu strained his left calf in his first Grapefruit League game playing third base, forcing the Yankees to conclude that LeMahieu was no longer an option at the position. He only played second base in his nine rehab games before making his season debut May 13 as a second baseman with Chisholm on the injured list with an oblique strain.

Three weeks later, Chisholm, who started the season as the team’s everyday second baseman, came off the injured list to play third base despite LeMahieu’s range at second base being glaringly limited. Chisholm, who feels most comfortable at second base, accepted the assignment and returned to third base, a position he picked up last season after the Yankees acquired him from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline through the World Series.

The calculus changed Sunday when Chisholm, with the Yankees in the midst of a six-game losing streak, told reporters that he hurt his shoulder making a throw from third base three weeks earlier and the injury impacted his throwing. Two days later, Chisholm, who had made three throwing errors in his final four starts at third base, was the Yankees’ starting second baseman again.

With Chisholm, an All-Star this season, stationed at second base, former MVPs Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger entrenched at first base and Giancarlo Stanton occupying the DH spot, playing time would have been sparse for LeMahieu.

Factoring in that the Yankees’ options at third base behind Oswald Peraza, who is also the team’s backup shortstop, would have been catcher J.C. Escarra, Cashman determined that LeMahieu’s presence hampered the team’s flexibility to an extent that would have handcuffed Boone’s in-game decision-making. Infielder Jorbit Vivas, a light-hitting versatile defender, was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace LeMahieu on the roster.

“I wouldn’t say he’s unwilling to still make the attempt and maybe spell over there,” Cashman said of LeMahieu. “But it was something that he was without sharing that was steering clear of to the extent he could.

“Because, again, like anything else, he’s got a lot of pride. He’s a great player. He wants to contribute to the team. He loves this team. He loves this organization. But he felt that was an avenue that was no longer a realistic avenue and that kind of ties our hands a little bit more moving forward.”

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