6/22/25

While there has been plenty of coverage of the Seattle Mariners on our site over the past few seasons, now is the time to expand and give a better look at the bigger picture in baseball. This will be a weekly blog where we will look at a handful of stories from the past week in the game from around the league. Not every team will be mentioned each week and some teams (Colorado) probably won’t get mentioned at all. This is all about the big picture and what is going on around America’s Favorite Pastime.

Rafael Devers Traded to San Francisco

While technically this took place during the previous week, the Boston Red Sox trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants sent shockwaves through baseball. Known as one of the most consistent and reliable hitters in the sport, Devers clearly had problems with Boston’s offseason moves. When Alex Bregman was drawing initial interest from the Red Sox, the talk was that he would play second base and keep Devers at third. That changed when Bregman did sign and the Red Sox decided to move Rafael Devers to DH. Immediately the star slugger voiced his frustrations especially after signing a 10-year, $315.5 million contract in January of 2023.

Then on May 2nd, Triston Casas ruptured the patella tendon in his left knee, ending his season and leaving a huge hole at first base for the Red Sox. They would ask Devers to fill in over there but Devers said no due to Boston asking him to DH in Spring Training. Clearly there was frustration and discourse between the two parties, but the huge contract made everyone believe that the two sides would survive this season and get back on the same page this offseason.

Everything changed on June 15th when the news broke right before the Giants took the field for Sunday Night Baseball against the Los Angeles Dodgers. A trade that changed the course of two franchises as it clearly signaled that the Buster Posey regime in San Francisco was all in and looking to compete with the Dodgers and Padres in the NL West for years to come. it also signaled the beginning of a youth movement in Boston who now has their big three rookies all in the lineup on a consistent basis, although Kristian Campbell was sent down this week.

With a struggling rotation, Boston is in need of starting pitching which makes them a fascinating team as we approach the trade deadline. While they say they will be buyers, they are on the fringe of being sellers. Guys like Jarren Duran and Aroldis Chapman would be highly sought after pieces. A very tough stretch out of the All-Star Break could decide how the Red Sox attack the deadline so they, along with Arizona, are teams to watch as we approach the deadline.

Dodgers-Padres Rivalry Overshadows Ohtani’s Return to the Mound

Whether you love or hate him or the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani is a one-of-one athlete in our lifetime and when he made his return to the mound on Monday after not pitching since August 23rd, 2023, the entire sports world was watching. While Ohtani would only pitch one inning, nobody was talking about what he did on the mound or at the plate. The conversation was about the intense rivalry between the Dodgers and Padres that got ugly over the course of the four-game series.

Andy Pages was the beginning of the showdown after getting hit by Dylan Cease in the opener on Monday. Things then got real heated on Tuesday when three players got hit, with Jose Iglesias, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Shohei Ohtani all wearing one. Pages would get hit again on Wednesday in what felt like the ending of the entire thing. It wasn’t. Bryce Johnson, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Shohei Ohtani were all hit again in the finale which resulted in benches clearing after Tatis was plunked. Robert Suarez for three games and both managers, Mike Shildt and Dave Roberts for one game, were all suspended.

It is not just the fact that these two teams don’t like each other. They are two of the very best teams in all of baseball while battling it out in a stacked NL West. This is not the first time these two teams have had heated series with benches clearing and it will not be last, with the two teams set to play six more times this season. With the Dodgers currently up by five games on the Padres and 3 1/2 up on the Giants, the NL West is going to be very wild and exciting in the second half of the season.

New York City Blues

For the last year plus, things have been pretty good for New York baseball. The Mets made it to the NLCS before losing to the Dodgers and the Yankees returned to the World Series before…losing to the Dodgers. Both teams got off to hot starts this season and moved atop their respective divisions. Life was good in the Big Apple.

However, this week was a bit of a nightmare for both the Yankees and Mets. For the Yankees, they went 30 innings without scoring a run and dropped three out of four to the Angels. While they did take two of three from Baltimore, their division lead shrunk with the scorching hot Tampa Bay Rays moving to just 2 1/2 games back entering this week. Aaron Judge also had a quiet week but we will talk more about him later. Series with the Reds and Athletics will give the Yankees a shot to bounce back, but it won’t be a nice, easy stroll to the division title.

Meanwhile, the Mets came into the week with a three-game losing streak and things got worse when they were swept by the struggling Atlanta Braves while only scoring five runs in the series. Pitching is not the problem for the Mets, the bats are the issue. With Juan Soto starting to get going, the Mets will likely be just fine when it comes to getting to the postseason. However, if they want to win the division title, things will have to change and the trio of Pete Alonso, Juan Soto, and Francisco Lindor will need some help.

20/20 Club Begins, MVP Races Tighten

Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge were already seen as the MVPs before a pitch was ever seen this season. There were players in both leagues that were expected to be in the top three like Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. in the National League and Bobby Witt Jr. and José Ramírez in the American League. However, the top competition for those two guys were not even in the conversation before the season started.

In the National League, Pete Crow-Armstrong has been a breakout star this season. This week, PCA became the first player to join the 20/20 club with his 20th home run of the season. Now at 21 homers and 23 stolen bases, the heart of the Chicago Cubs is starting to garner national attention with his spectacular defense adding into the conversation. He is also tied for fifth in baseball in runs batted in with 61, which is twelve more than Ohtani. Twelve is also the difference in their stolen bases where PCA has the advantage. While Ohtani still has the slight edge due to batting average and OPS, a cold streak for him or a hot streak for PCA would make things very interesting.

In the American League, Aaron Judge’s cold week opened the door for Cal Raleigh to not only enter the conversation, but potentially draw neck and neck with the reigning award winner. While Judge’s .367 batting average is way ahead of Raleigh’s .276, the damage being done is extremely close. Cal Raleigh has the edge in homers (31) and RBI (66) to Judge who has 27 bombs and 61 runs batted in. The two are in the select group with an OPS over 1.000 as the only other player in the league in that club is Shohei Ohtani. Raleigh’s Platinum Glove award winning defense behind the plate is the kicker in it all as he plays the most physically demanding position in the sport. If Judge and the Yankees continue to struggle for a sustained period while Raleigh stays hot, the race could end up favoring Raleigh after the All-Star Break.

Mets-Phillies Battle for 1st Place in NL East

I didn’t talk about this series earlier because I wanted it to have the spotlight. The New York Mets entered a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday with the two teams tied atop the NL East. Every game in the series turned out to be a blowout with the Phillies taking the opener 10-2. A six-run 7th inning really broke things open for Philadelphia as Bryson Stott delivered the big three-run double to cap off the inning. Back-to-back homers by Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil would be all the Mets could get offensively while their bullpen allowed eight runs after the homers had tied the game.

In the middle game of the series, the Mets answered back to force a rubber game on Sunday Night Baseball. Mick Abel really struggled for the Phillies, allowing four runs in just three innings on the mound. Back-to-back-to-back homers by Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, and Juan Soto brought the Mets back to life in the 3rd. Soto ended up driving in four runs in the game while Lindor added three RBI as well. 15 hits led the way as the Mets evened the series with a 11-4 victory.

With the entire country watching Sunday Night Baseball, Jesús Luzardo stole the show with a brilliant outing on the mound for the Phillies. The lefty only allowed three hits through 6 2/3 scoreless innings while walking one and striking out seven. The Phillies got to David Peterson in the 4th after Kyle Schwarber hit a solo bomb followed by an Otto Kemp RBI single and a three-run shot by Edmundo Sosa. New York avoided the shutout thanks to an 8th inning home run by Francisco Lindor, but a 7-1 victory gave Philadelphia the series and first place in the NL East.

Three Series to Watch Next Week

Chicago @ St. Louis (6/23-6/26, Four Games)

A rivalry series is always exciting, but St. Louis and Milwaukee have closed the gap in the race for the NL Central. Chicago now leads the division by just 3 1/2 over Milwaukee and 4 1/2 over St. Louis. The Cardinals have won five of their last six games entering the series to begin the week while Chicago split two with Milwaukee before dropping two of three to Seattle. If the Cubs pitching is on then they are just fine, but they will be facing a Cardinals lineup that they have yet to see this season.

Philadelphia @ Houston (6/24-6/26, Three Games)

I almost chose the Cubs @ Astros as the two teams will meet this weekend, but a 2022 World Series rematch should be a fantastic preview of what the playoffs could look like. Houston is red hot despite some mixed results from their offense and Yordan Alvarez still out of the lineup. Houston hasn’t lost a series since May 18th-20th when they dropped two out of three to Tampa Bay. With a five-game lead in the AL West, Houston will look to pull away. Philadelphia just took over the NL East lead and since a 1-9 stretch to close May and begin June, the Phillies are 10-3. Zack Wheeler and Hunter Brown will square off in the finale on Thursday which could decide who takes the series.

Seattle @ Texas (6/27-6/29, Three Games)

Who will challenge the Astros for the AL West? This series could go a long way in answering that question. Seattle had a miserable stretch to end May and begin June but a sweep of Cleveland catapulted them to a series win at Wrigley Field as the team looks to find some consistency after coughing up the AL West lead. Texas has weirdly struggled hitting the baseball this season and are the fifth lowest scoring team in baseball. However, no team has allowed fewer runs on the mound than the Rangers in a bizarre twist of fate. They have won four of their last five series but are just 1-5 against the Mariners this season. Texas has to beat a contender and their 20-27 record against teams above .500 is cause for concern. To own the tiebreaker against the M’s, they have to go 6-1 or 7-0 against the Mariners which will be a tricky task that must start this weekend.

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