7/6/25

Another week has passed in Major League Baseball and it was another exciting week. Things are starting to sort themselves out among who will be buyers and sellers at the Trade Deadline. We also now know the All-Star teams for the Midsummer Classic next week. Let’s get into it all!

All-Star Rosters Announced

We have the rosters for the All-Star Game next week. Of course things will change as players are unavailable due to injury or pitchers pitching too close to the break. However, the list of players below have all earned the honor of being selected by fans, coaches, and fellow players.

Starters
C: Cal Raleigh (SEA)
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR)
2B: Gleyber Torres (DET)
3B: José Ramírez (CLE)
SS: Jacob Wilson (ATH)
OF: Aaron Judge (NYY)
OF: Riley Greene (DET)
OF: Javier Báez (DET)
DH: Ryan O’Hearn (BAL)

Washington Fires Manager Davey Martinez and GM Mike Rizzo

Sunday night forced some changes to this article as a fascinating move took place in the nation’s capital. The Washington Nationals fired manager and World Series champion Davey Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo. Even more shockingly, the team did it less than a week away from the MLB draft where they have the #1 overall pick.

Now the move makes sense as the Nationals have not had a winning season since they won the World Series in 2019. The timing is weird but time was almost up for the franchise to pick up options for both Martinez and Rizzo for the 2026 season. Adding that fact into the mix makes the timing make a lot more sense amid a disappointing season for the Nats.

Davey Martinez led the team to the 2019 World Series title but did ruffle some feathers in a postgame press conference earlier this season in which he said the coaches were never the one’s to blame for a team struggling.

Mike Rizzo did a lot of good for the Nationals and was responsible for drafting Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper in back-to-back drafts. Rizzo was also the mastermind behind the Juan Soto trade where the Nationals acquired CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, Jarlin Susana, James Wood, and Luke Voit. Abrams and Wood are both All-Stars this year for Washington while Gore is having his best season as a pro while Hassell III is now breaking into the big leagues.

Washington is expected to take either Ethan Holliday, Kade Anderson, or Seth Hernandez. The draft will begin on Sunday, July 13th at 3pm.

Clayton Kershaw Joins 3,000 Strikeout Club

One of the ultimate “nice guys” in the game of baseball made history this week as Clayton Kershaw became the 20th player in MLB history to strikeout 3,000 batters. He is also just the third player to do so with one team, joining Walter Johnson and Bob Gibson. In his 18th big league season, Kershaw is not the pitcher he once was. However, during his prime Kershaw was one of the best pitchers to ever do it in the majors. Spending his entire career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw has won three Cy Youngs and won the 2014 National League MVP while winning the pitching triple crown as well. To make it even more dramatic, Kershaw was able to complete the feat at home against the last batter of his outing. It was a very special and historical moment for one of the most liked and respected players of this generation.

Luis L. Ortiz Gambling Investigation

From happy pitching news to the other end of the spectrum. Major League Baseball announced that Cleveland Guardians starter Luis L. Ortiz has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as a result of a betting related investigation. Two pitches were flagged by a betting-integrity firm due to unusual gambling activity. One pitch came back on June 15th against the Seattle Mariners and the other was on June 27th against the St. Louis Cardinals. Ortiz will remain on leave until after the All-Star Break but that could be extended. Major League Baseball has hammered down on gambling issues in the past and if they find anything suspicious, Cleveland’s already depleted staff could lose another arm.

Jurickson Profar Returns, Now or Never for Atlanta

Returning from PED suspension this week, Jurickson Profar homered in his first game back and went 6-21 in his first five games back. A big signing in the offseason for Atlanta, Profar was suspended back on March 31st and that kind of gave bad omens for the 2025 Braves. Atlanta has not ever gotten out of their own way and are currently in 4th place in the NL East, 13 1/2 games behind in the division and nine games out of the Wild Card. As of right now, it looks like Atlanta will be selling at the deadline which is a stunning turn of events as they were viewed as a top three team in the National League before the season began. Atlanta finishes up the first half with three games against the Athletics and three against the Cardinals. Anything worse than a 5-1 run might be the nail in the coffin for this year’s team.

Home Run Derby Field Takes Shape

The eight-man field for the 2025 Home Run Derby is starting to fill up. Five participants have already been announced with four first timers joining the field. We have listed the participants below that have been announced for the derby on July 14th at 5pm at Truist Park in Atlanta with their season total in home runs in parentheses.

• Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (35 Home Runs)
• Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves (9 Home Runs)
• James Wood, Washington Nationals (23 Home Runs)
• Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins (20 Home Runs)
• Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates (15 Home Runs)

Three Series to Watch Next Week

Arizona @ San Diego (7/7-7/10, Four Games)

It is do or die time for the most interesting team at this month’s trade deadline. The Arizona Diamondbacks are 4 1/2 games out of the Wild Card and 10 1/2 behind Los Angeles in the NL West. This week, Arizona has a chance to directly help themselves out with a four-game series against one of the teams in front of them in the San Diego Padres. San Diego looked like one of the top three teams in baseball back in April but would now miss the playoffs if the season ended today. For San Diego, this week is a chance to knockout some of their competition for one of the six playoff spots in the NL. Arizona has quite a few attractive trade pieces like Eugenio Suárez, Josh Naylor, and Zac Gallen plus more. If they can’t make up some ground quick, it’s unlikely any of those guys end their season playing in the desert.

Chicago @ New York (7/11-7/13, Three Games)

Both of these teams were in a tricky spot last week. The Chicago Cubs took care of business by sweeping Cleveland and taking two out of three from St. Louis to open their division lead back up to four games. The New York Yankees did not handle the pressure at all. The Bronx Bombers would be swept in a four-game series by Toronto before dropping two out of three to the New York Mets over the weekend. The Yankees are now a Wild Card team and trail Toronto by 3 1/2 games in the AL East. The Yankees have a series with Seattle before the Cubs come to town and if they have another bad week, they could be outside the playoff picture by the time we get to the All-Star Break.

Atlanta @ St. Louis (7/11-7/13, Three Games)

Atlanta might already be dead. 9 1/2 games out of a playoff spot and things have never looked smooth for the Braves in 2025. They did get Jurickson Profar back last week but it didn’t help them make up any ground in the postseason hunt. St. Louis would drop a series to the Cubs, but with their strong first half the Cardinals have put themselves in a position to buy at the deadline. However, if the Cards do stumble and give Atlanta some hope before the All-Star Game, that could take away one of the league’s potential sellers. It is gut check time for the Braves and time is starting to run out for the 2021 champs.

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