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Mega Thread MLB season 2025

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JLC said:
Devers (Yankee tormentor) traded by the Red Sox to the Giants.

Pretty big decision by the Red Sox but he has been reluctant to help the team when needed so I guess Boston showed him no player is bigger than the team.
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Funny trade. Somehow both sets of fans seem unhappy.

Boston shed the huge contract and get rid of a guy that refuses to play anything other than DH now.

SF didn't really give up too much but now take on the big contract.
 
Both the Giants and Red Sox have announced the trade, so it is now official. The Red Sox have optioned Kyle Harrison to Triple-A Worcester. Hicks is likely ticketed to join the Red Sox bullpen, where he will fill the role of the right-handed, late inning complement to Aroldis Chapman in the absence of Liam Hendriks and Justin Slaten, both of whom are on the IL.

The Giants also traded James Tibbs and Jose Bello to the Red Sox. Neither are likely to help the Red Sox in 2025, but they still have some value to the Red Sox. The Giants selected Tibbs in the first round of the 2024 draft, and he has looked good at High-A, with a .245/.377/.480 slash line that features nearly as many walks as strikeouts. He was ranked fourth in the Giants farm system. Bello was unranked after making just one appearance in US professional baseball in 2024, but was signed by the Giants out of the Dominican Republic prior to the 2023 season, with a 41.8% strikeout rate in 18 innings in rookie ball this year.

Devers comes with a high price. He is owed $2 million assignment bonus from the Giants, and is also owed approximately $250 million over the remainder of the 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed with the Red Sox two seasons ago.

Devers could step in for the injured Matt Chapman, and there is a possibility that he plays some first base (if he agrees to do so), while the Giants ask top prospect Bryce Eldridge to continue to develop at Triple-A. However, long-term, it seems that Devers will man the DH position for the Giants over the majority of the remainder of his contract. The Giants are likely to rely on a combination of Wilmer Flores, Dominic Smith and Jerar Encarnacion to play first base until Eldridge is ready to be promoted.

The trade leaves the Red Sox with a significant loss of production from their line-up as they look to keep pace with the rest of the AL in the race for the wild card (with the Yankees dominating the division). The eventual return of OF Wilyer Abreu from the IL will likely allow the Red Sox to slot Roman Anthony in at DH, and Masataka Yoshida might play DH in the short term. Yoshida has missed the entire season so far due to shoulder surgery that has not impacted his ability to hit but has left him unable to throw. It is now conceivable that the Red Sox could activate Yoshida off the IL to play as a DH full-time.

 
It seems that the return of Ohtani to the mound is imminent, with the Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts telling reporters after today's game that Ohtani will "most likely" make his pitching debut during the Dodgers' series with the Padres some time this week, and then the Dodgers officially announced that Ohtani will start against the Padres in game 1 of their series this week, tomorrow.

Despite the Dodgers being somewhat vague on the timeline for Ohtani's return from Tommy John surgery, it seems that Ohtani is back on the mound a month earlier than even the most optimistic of predictions. It seems that the Dodgers have been convinced by his most recent bullpen session that he threw last week, when he threw 44 pitches across three simulated innings and did "whatever he wanted with the baseball, with every pitch he wanted to".

However, it seems that Ohtani will be used as an opener rather than expected to go deep into the game. Dave Roberts told reporters that Ohtani is likely to be pitching in rehab assignments in the major leagues, rather than full starts. Due to Ohtani's unique role as a full-time DH, he is not able to be sent on rehab assignment. Further, Ohtani does not count towards the Dodgers' 13-pitcher roster limit.

Ohtani replaces the previously scheduled RHP Ben Casparius as the starter for the game against the Padres. Casparius lasted only 54 pitches in his most recent outing and it is now possible that a combination of Ohtani and Casparius will at least cover the innings that you'd expect from a competent starter before turning the game over to the bullpen.





www.nytimes.com

Shohei Ohtani hints he could return to mound before All-Star break: ‘Something like that’

Ohtani threw three simulated innings and 44 pitches against minor leaguers from the Dodgers' Arizona spring complex on Tuesday in San Diego.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

 
The Giants selected the contract of LHP Joey Lucchesi, who took both the active and 40-man roster spots of LHP Kyle Harrison after he was traded to the Red Sox in exchange for DH/3B Rafael Devers. Lucchesi signed a minor league contract with the Giants in January 2025 after pitching for four seasons with the Mets, albeit he only threw 95 1/3 innings for the Mets in those four seasons. Lucchesi spent three seasons and 299 1/3 innings with the Padres.

The Red Sox designated LHP Zach Penrod for assignment to create roster space for Harrison (Hicks took the roster spot vacated by Devers) on the 40-man roster.
 

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The New York Yankees will be without RHP Jake Cousins for the remainder of 2025 and for a good chunk of 2026 after manager Aaron Boone told reporters overnight that Cousins is set to undergo Tommy John surgery. Cousins is already on the 60-day IL.

It's bad news for Cousins, but not unexpected, as he has been dealing with arm issues all season. When Spring Training camp opened in February, it was reported that Cousins was already half-way through a shutdown period to deal with a forearm strain. When the Yankees selected utility player Pablo Reyes to the active roster, Cousins was put on the 60-day IL to make room for Reyes.

Cousins did commence a rehab assignment earlier this month but only made two appearances before he was shut down.

Cousins has pitched 90 2/3 innings in the major leagues between the Brewers and Yankees, for a career 2.78 ERA. His 14.8% walk rate is on the high side, but he has a 32.6% strikeout rate and a 47.1% ground ball rate on balls in play.

While on the 60-day IL, Cousins continues to accrue service time, so he will finish the season with just over three years of service time. That's important, because it means he qualifies for arbitration for the first time, so it likely means that the Yankees will non-tender him at the end of the year to save the 40-man spot (there is no IL in the off-season).

 
The Houston Astros will be without RHP Lance McCullers Jr for about a fortnight after he was placed on the 15-day IL retroactive to 13 June with a right foot sprain. The Astros recalled RHP Jason Alexander to take his place on the active roster. McCullers was scratched from his start with the nod given to Ryan Gusto instead.

 
The Yankees announced that utility player Pablo Reyes has been designated for assignment. This opens a spot on the active roster to accommodate the return of DH Giancarlo Stanton from the 60-day IL. The club's 40-man roster remains at 39. Reyes signed a minor league contract last off-season and made the Opening Day roster. He has primarily played as a bench bat, usually as a late game defensive replacement. In 25 games, Reyes has 34 plate appearances for a .194/.242/.226 slash line.

The return of Stanton will push either Ben Rice or Paul Goldschmidt to the bench (Goldy has played first base while Rice has been the DH, but Stanton's injuries have robbed him of the capacity to play anywhere except DH, so Rice and Goldschmidt will now have to share duties at first base). The Yankees also need a fourth infielder on the bench, as well as a backup catcher, so there is now no room for Reyes on their active roster, given that the other candidate for assignment, Oswald Pereza, is several years younger than Reyes.
 
The Detroit Tigers have claimed RHP Carlos Hernandez off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies. Hernandez takes the 40-man roster spot of John Brebbia, whom the Tigers designated for assignment last week. The Tigers must open an active roster spot for the reliever, since he is out of options.

Hernandez has previously pitched for the Royals and the Phillies as a reliever. In 2025, he pitched 25 2/3 innings for Philadelphia, with a 5.26 ERA, 18.7% strikeout rate and a 10.6% walk rate.
 
The Tampa Bay Rays acquired RHP Forrest Whitley from the Houston Astros over the weekend in exchange for cash considerations. The Rays had open spaces on their 40-man roster, but would need to make a move to add him to their active roster, since Whitley does not have any minor league options left. To accommodate Whitley on their active roster, the Rays optioned RHP Mason Englert to Triple-A Durham.



 
I'm looking forward to watching some Men's College World Series when I get the chance. One pitcher prospect who did his chances of getting drafted high in next month's draft no harm at all was RHP Gage Wood, who threw a no-hitter for Arkansas against Murray State in this morning's game. He took a perfect game into the eighth inning and struck out 19 hitters (a MCWS record) over 119 pitches, allowing just one HBP (a second HBP was overruled by challenge in the ninth inning). The only two other complete games thrown in the MWCS happened in 1960 (Jim Wixson for Oklahoma State) and 1950 (Jim Ehrler for Texas).

Wood also broke a record that had stood for over 50 years with his 19 strikeouts. The previous MCWS record for strikeouts was held by Ed Bane for Arizona State, who punched out 17 Oklahoma batters on 11 June 1972. The MLB record for most strikeouts in a game is held by Max Scherzer, who struck out 17 for the Nationals against the Mets on 3 October 2015, and by Nolan Ryan, who also struck out 17 for the Angels against the Tigers on 15 July 1973.



 
The San Francisco Giants held a press conference to formally introduce Rafael Devers as a Giant. It appears that the Giants will have Devers play as designated hitter but also as a first baseman. He will start training to play first base in preparation for the position change in the next few days.

Devers took a very different approach towards this compared to his time in Boston, telling reporters: "They're the men in charge. I'm here to play wherever they want me to play".

This contrasts to his attitude in Boston, when he spoke to the media shortly after the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman and told reporters that he did not want to shift off third base. Devers referenced a promise made to him by the former Red Sox GM, Chaim Bloom, when he signed his long-term extension back in 2023, though in 2025 Spring Training, Boston manager Alex Cora downplayed that promise, noting that it was under the previous front office.

After starting the season poorly, Devers became accustomed to play DH and was hitting .272/.401/.504 when he was traded to the Giants. The Red Sox lost 1B Triston Casas to a season-ending knee injury and the Red Sox asked Devers to consider a move to first base, but Devers refused to consider the move, noting: "The talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove, that I wasn't going to play any other position but DH. So right now, I just feel like it's not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position. Now I think they should do their job essentially and hit the market and look for another player. I'm not sure why they want me to be in between the way they have me now."

Shortly after the trade was announced, the Giants President of Baseball Operations, Buster Posey, told reporters that he had been engaged with the Red Sox over a Devers trade for about three or four weeks, which suggests that the discussions over a trade started shortly after Red Sox owner John Henry, CEO Sam Kennedy and GM Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City to meet with Rafael Devers regarding his position on playing in the field.

For the time being, the Giants will use Devers at first base, though they have top prospect Bryce Eldridge on the cusp of promotion to the majors and he's also a first baseman. When healthy, Matt Chapman will continue to play third base when he recovers his health, while big free agent signing Willy Adames continues to play shortstop. Devers will be under contract to the Giants for another eight years after this season, while Eldridge will be under club control until he accrues six seasons of service time.

Devers will be the Giants' designated hitter in today's game, while Dominic Smith plays first base and Wilmer Flores is on the bench. According to reports, while Chapman is unavailable through injury, the Giants do not plan to play Devers at third base.

Flores and Smith are free agents at the end of the season, and it is possible that either or both players are traded by the deadline in case Eldridge demonstrates that he is ready to be promoted to the majors.






 
The New York Mets have placed RHP Tylor Megill on the 15-day IL, retroactive to 15 June, due to a right elbow strain. The Mets recalls RHP Justin Garza to fill in for Megill. According to manager, Carlos Mendoza, the best case scenario would be that Megill misses about 4-5 weeks. The Mets intend to use a spot starter to fill in for Megill's turn in the rotation and then reinstate RHP Frankie Montas to join the rotation after that, depending on how his next rehab outing turns out.



 

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After being released by the New York Mets, LHP Anthony Gose has signed a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. It is not yet known whether Gose has signed a major league deal (which would necessitate the Diamondbacks making moves to their 40-man and active rosters) or a minor league deal.

Gose was drafted by the Phillies in 2008 as an outfielder and did not start pitching until 2017 with the Guardians. He made his MLB debut as a pitcher in 2021 and has now thrown 32 innings with a 4.78 ERA, a 29.7% strikeout rate and a 12.3% walk rate.

 
The Athletics signed former Diamondbacks reliever, RHP Scott McGough, to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators for the time being. McGough was outrighted by the Diamondbacks earlier in June, and he opted for free agency. McGough has 116 2/3 innings of major league action for a 5.86 ERA.
 

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I watched game 1 of the MCWS yesterday (game 2 was in the early hours this morning) between Coastal Carolina and LSU (yes, the College team that produced Paul Skenes and Jared Jones). LSU won game 1 1-0 thanks to a run scored in the first inning, and then relied on their starting pitcher LHP Kade Anderson to lock down the Chanticleers. Anderson threw a complete game shutout (with 10 strikeouts, 3 hits and 5 walks) in 130 pitches (you never see a pitch count like that in the majors any more).

Coastal Carolina's game 1 starter, RHP Cameron Flukey, also pitched well, throwing six innings with four hits, two walks, one earned run and nine strikeouts.

Unfortunately for Coastal Carolina, they lost game 2 of the MCWS to the Tigers this morning 5-3 to be swept in the finals. Their manager, Kevin Schnall, was ejected from the game in the first inning by home plate umpire Angel Campos after Coastal Carolina's first base coach Matt Schilling complained about a call behind the plate. Schnall later told reporters that he "vaguely" heard a warning issued by the home plate umpire and sought clarification from Campos, only to be "shooed away" by the umpire. Schnall fired back at the umpire that he'd missed three calls, and held up three fingers, whereupon he was thrown out of the game by Campos. Coastal Carolina will be without their first base coach and their head coach to start the 2026 College season under the NCAA rules regarding ejection of coaches.

The Tigers got 6 1/3 innings from their game 2 starter, RHP Anthony Eyanson, who struck out nine hitters and gave up three runs on seven hits (including two homeruns). The pivotal half-inning was the top of the fourth as the Tigers (who had tied the game 1-1 in the top of the third) scored four runs to take a 5-1 lead over Coastal Carolina with the runs coming against RHP Jacob Morrison. LSU loaded the bases on a walk, a single and a HBP with no outs in the inning. LSU's Chris Stanfield hit a line drive single into left field to score the first two runs of the inning, and Derek Curiel hit a two-out single up the middle to score two further runs and clear the basis. Morrison was relieved after that hit.

Coastal Carolina had their chances to come back, but left runners on base in the bottom of the fifth and the bottom of the sixth, before they threatened a comeback when Wells Sykes deposited a hanging slider into the left-centre seats for a two run homerun. Starter Anthony Eyanson was relieved by LSU after that homerun, and the LSU bullpen managed to hold on for the win.
 
The Arizona Diamondbacks have added a backup catcher, signing James McCann to a major league contract. McCann had been on a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves that contained a rolling opt-out clause that would trigger if another team offered him a guaranteed deal. The Braves could either than keep McCann by selecting his contract to the active roster or release him. Since the Braves are managing the playing time of catchers Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin, they didn't really need a third catcher (especially as they have Sandy Leon and Jason Delay in the minors).

The Diamondbacks are having to do without Gabriel Moreno for the time being after he fractured his finger and is expected to be on the IL for "weeks, not days" (according to Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo). Moreno's absence leaves the Diamondbacks thin at catcher, with Jose Herrera and Aramis Garcia on the active roster, and Adrian Del Castillo and Rene Pinto in the minors. With McCann signed to a major league contract, he will at least have a part-time role with Arizona.

McCann has played in the majors for 11 seasons, and arguably peaked back in 2019 when he won an All-Star selection while part of the Chicago White Sox. He has a career .241/.293/.380 across 3,307 plate appearances and spent the last two seasons backing up Adley Rutschman in Baltimore.



 
The trade deadline is heaving into view, and one name that is attracting some interest is Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa. IKF is reportedly drawing attention from the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees. IKF played for New York in 2022-2023, first as the starting shortstop, then as a utility infielder when Anthony Volpe took over shortstop in 2023. Kiner-Falefa is known as a defence-first guy, with modest offensive production, and might hold attraction for the Yankees as they prepare for a tilt at the World Series compared to current backup infielder Oswald Peraza.

The Giants situation got a little more complicated after they added Rafael Devers via trade from the Red Sox last week. Devers will play first base for the Giants once he becomes comfortable with the demands of the position, while Matt Chapman will eventually return from the IL to play third base. Casey Schmitt has been playing third base while Chapman has been rehabbing his hand injury and Bob Melvin will probably want to keep his hot bat in the lineup somewhere, but acquiring IKF could mean that the Giants demote either Christian Koss or Brett Wisely to the minors.

Kiner-Falefa is in the last season of a two-year contract that he signed with the Blue Jays prior to the 2024 season. He is owed a little over $4 million on his $7.5 million salary for 2025, and he was traded to Pittsburgh by the Blue Jays last trade deadline.

www.usatoday.com

'Misunderstood' Manny Machado makes no apologies on his path to Hall of Fame

Manny Machado is one of MLB's biggest stars, hoping to win a World Series en route to the Hall of Fame.
www.usatoday.com
 
The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's NPB have signed 1B Luke Voit for the remainder of the 2025 season. Voit landed in Japan over the weekend to start up with his new team after terms were finalised. Voit had his best period in the major leagues in 2018-2020 with the New York Yankees, culminating in 22 homeruns in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. However, he suffered injuries in 2021 that limited him to only 68 games and he was traded to the Padres just before the start of the 2022 season. Voit has bounced between San Diego, Washington (as a throw-in for the Juan Soto trade by Washington to San Diego) and Milwaukee, and he has not played in the majors since last playing for the Brewers back in 2023.

 

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