Mega Thread MLB season 2025

[RPCB]

Baseball is wild. Couldn’t do anything against lefty no name from the Guardians last week, but chased Max Fried from the game after 3 innings today.

 

[RPCB]

Pretty cool to hear the Yankee stadium organist suddenly break out into the tune is part of the Adelaide Crows theme song.

 

[Big Unit 30]

Pretty cool to hear the Yankee stadium organist suddenly break out into the tune is part of the Adelaide Crows theme song.

Great display from Boyd today.
Man’s a worthy all star and amazing he’s breakout year is at 32yo.

 

[RPCB]

Great display from Boyd today.
Man’s a worthy all star and amazing he’s breakout year is at 32yo.

Yeah, he’s been amazing this year in the absence of Justin Steele. We really do need quality starters and he has stepped up in a huge way. Well deserves All Star selection.

And 34.

 

[RPCB]

Fantastic series win over the Yankees after getting blown out 11-0 in the first game. 9-3 over the next two games. 57-39 at the AS break.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The MLB Draft is currently underway. The Washington Nationals selected shortstop Eli Willits (from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School in Oklahoma) first overall. Willits is the son of a former major league player, and sets a record for the youngest player ever chosen first overall. Willits father, Reggie Willits, played six years in the majors with the Angels.

The draft so far:

Pick	Team	Name	School	Position
1	Washington Nationals	Eli Willits	Fort Cobb-Broxton HS (OK)	Shortstop
2	Los Angeles Angels	Tyler Bremner	UC Santa Barbara (CA)	Pitcher (right handed)
3	Seattle Mariners	Kade Anderson	LSU (LA)	Pitcher (left handed)
4	Colorado Rockies	Ethan Holliday	Stillwater HS (OK)	Shortstop
5	St Louis Cardinals	Liam Doyle	Tennessee (TN)	Pitcher (left handed)
6	Pittsburgh Pirates	Seth Hernandez	Corona HS (CA)	Pitcher (right-handed)
7	Miami Marlins	Aiva Arquette	Oregon State (OR)	Shortstop
8	Toronto Blue Jays	JoJo Parker	Purvis HS (MS)	Shortstop
9	Cincinnati Reds	Steele Hall	Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL)	Shortstop
10	Chicago White Sox	Billy Carlson	Corona HS (CA)	Shortstop
11	Athletics	Jamie Arnold	Florida State (FL)	Pitcher (left-handed)
12	Texas Rangers	Gavin Fien	Great Oak HS (CA)	Shortstop
13	San Francisco Giants	Gavin Kilen	Tennessee (TN)	Shortstop
14	Tampa Bay Rays	Daniel Pierce	Mill Creek HS (GA)	Shortstop
15	Boston Red Sox	Kyren Witherspoon	Oklahoma (OK)	Pitcher (right-handed)
16	Minnesota Twins	Marek Houston	Wake Forest (NC)	Shortstop
17	Chicago Cubs	Ethan Conrad	Wake Forest (NC)	Outfielder
18	Arizona Diamondbacks	Kayson Cunningham	Lady Bird Johnson HS (TX)	Shortstop
19	Baltimore Orioles	Ike Irish	Auburn (AL)	Catcher
20	Milwaukee Brewers	Andrew Fischer	Tennessee (TN)	Third Base
21	Houston Astros	Xavier Neyens	Mt. Vernon HS (WA)	Shortstop
22	Atlanta Braves	Tate Southisene	Basic HS (NV)	Shortstop
23	Kansas City Royals	Sean Gamble	IMG Academy (FL)	Outfielder
24	Detroit Tigers	Jordan Yost	Sickles HS (FL)	Shortstop
25	San Diego Padres	Kruz Schoolcraft	Sunset HS (OR)	Pitcher (left-handed)
26	Philadelphia Phillies	Gage Wood	Arkansas (AR)	Pitcher (right-handed)
27	Cleveland Guardians	Jace LaViolette	Texas A&M (TX)	Outfielder
28*	Kansas City Royals	Josh Hammond	Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC)	Shortstop
29+	Arizona Diamondbacks	Patrick Forbes	Louisville (KY)	Pitcher (right-handed)
30+	Baltimore Orioles	Caden Bodine	Coastal Carolina (SC)	Catcher
31+	Baltimore Orioles	Wehiwa Aloy	Arkansas (AR)	Shortstop

* Prospect Promotion Incentive pick
+ Compensation pick

 

[Dixie Flatline]

We're about 2.5 weeks away from the trade deadline, so news reports are starting to emerge regarding potential trades.

The Toronto Blue Jays have identified a need for starting pitching and are reportedly interested in Arizona Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen, who is an impending free agent. Unfortunately for both Gallen and the Diamondbacks (if they choose to trade him) is that Gallen is having the worst season in his seven-year MLB career. He has a 5.40 ERA in 115 innings and some of the worst hard-contact rate of any pitcher in the league.

Bob Nightengale also reports that the Phillies are looking at Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran and reliever Griffin Jax as reinforcements for their bullpen.

In addition, according to Nightengale, the Rays are open to trading RHP Taj Bradley.

MLB draft twins Kyson and Malachi Witherspoon owe it all to their supermom

Twin MLB prospects Kyson and Malachi Witherspoon could both hear their names called on the draft's first day.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The New York Mets have activated LHP Sean Manaea off the 60-day IL to make his season debut. The Mets have optioned RHP Austin Warren to Triple-A to open a spot on the active roster. The Mets had a vacancy on their 40-man roster that Manaea could fill.

It is likely that Manaea will make his season debut out of the bullpen in relief of RHP Clay Holmes, but the plan will be to put Manaea back in the starting rotation after the All-Star break.

Manaea has not lit the world on fire in his rehab assignment, putting up a 6.27 ERA in 18 2/3 innings of work.

Manaea activated, will make 2025 debut in relief vs. Royals

The Mets' 2024 ace is ready for his '25 debut. Sean Manaea, re-signed in the offseason after a career year last season, was activated from the 60-day injured list on Sunday and will pitch against the Royals in the final game of the first half. Clay Holmes is slated to

www.mlb.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

According to reports, the Milwaukee Brewers are interested in extending RHP Jacob Misiorowski. The Brewers made Misiorowski an offer earlier in the season, but could not come to an agreement with the rookie pitcher, who was selected to the All-Star Game after just five major league starts (breaking the record set by RHP Paul Skenes in 2024, who made 11 starts before being named to his first All-Star Game).

 

[Dixie Flatline]

According to reports from the Tampa Bay Times, should the Tampa Bay Rays make the postseason this year, they will host their playoff games at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The Rays were forced to vacate Tropicana Field this year after the stadium suffered significant damage thanks to a hurricane in the off-season that rendered the stadium unplayable at least this year. The Rays then entered into an agreement with the Yankees to temporarily use Steinbrenner Field as their home field during the 2025 season, as the field is normally the home of the Tampa Tarpons, the Single-A affiliate of the Yankees.

Commissioner Rob Manfred weighs in on possible playoff site for Rays

Steinbrenner Field, the Rays’ temporary home this year, seats just 10,046 fans.

www.tampabay.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Cleveland Guardians have put RHP Paul Sewald on the 15-day IL due to a right shoulder strain, according to reports. The move is retrospective to 12 July, and the Guardians have not yet announced a replacement. It is the second time this year that Sewald has been forced to the IL due to a strain in his throwing shoulder, after signing a one-year, $7 million contract with the Guardians in the off-season. Sewald only returned from his first stint on the IL on 5 July.

In his limited work with the Guardians this season, Sewald has managed a 4.70 ERA in 15 1/3 innings, with a 29% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Veteran reliever David Robertson has been unsigned all season after reaching free agency at the end of the 2024 season. According to reports, Robertson has been throwing bullpen sessions for interested clubs, including the Mets and Yankees. Other clubs are expected to scout a throwing session for Robertson over the next week.

Robertson turned 40 in April and showed no signs of slowing down during his age-39 season in 2024 with the Rangers, for whom he threw 72 innings of 3.00 ERA, picking up 34 holds and two saves while striking out 33.5% of opponents and walking 9.1%.

Before the season started, it was reported that Robertson was looking for a salary in the vicinity of $10 million, having earned $11.5 million (with $5 million deferred) from the Rangers in 2024. The Phillies had been interested in signing Robertson early in the season, and they are still looking for bullpen assistance.

Free agent David Robertson could be an option for teams seeking bullpen help

Several teams, including the Mets and Yankees, have recently looked into the 40-year-old reliever.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

With just over two weeks before the trade deadline, teams are cautiously feeling each other out with respect to whether players may be made available for trade. Minnesota is attracting some interest with respect to its All-Star starter RHP Joe Ryan, but the Twins have not yet committed to being sellers at the deadline, since they entered the All-Star break just four games out of the last AL Wild Card spot. The Twins are currently tied with the Angels and trail the Rays, Rangers and Mariners in the chase for the postseason.

According to reports, the Twins would need to be out of the playoff race over the last couple of weeks before the deadline, and receive a very attractive package, in order to move Ryan.

MLB All-Star Weekend rumors: Joe Ryan trade, Misiorowski extension, Braves latest

With slightly over two weeks until the trade deadline, a precious few teams are signaling that they will sell, and it leaves the many playoff-hopeful clubs out

fansided.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

World Series winner OF Travis Jankowski has elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Syracuse (affiliated with the Mets), according to his transaction tracker. This indicates that Jankowski cleared waivers after the Mets designated him for assignment last week. Jankowski has been with the White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Mets so far this season, playing 26 MLB games in total between the three of them. He has a combined slash line of .244/.286/.289 in 50 plate appearances.

 

[RPCB]

 

[largebus]

A swing off to decide the all star game. MLB is run by clowns.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

A swing off to decide the all star game. MLB is run by clowns.

This follows the MLB ensuring that Cal Raleigh advanced out of the first round at all costs when they made up the "fact" that his longest home run beat Brent Rooker's longest home run by less than inch yesterday, rather than risk a swing-off between Raleigh and Rooker.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

LHP Bruce Zimmermann has opted out of his minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers and has become a free agent, according to reports.

The 30 year old signed a minor league deal last US winter and has pitched exclusively in Triple-A with Nashville. He has made 13 starts and six relief appearances for a 4.35 ERA in 89 innings. His strikeout rate (18.1%) is below average, but he has kept walks down to 5% and induced groundballs at an above average rate (47.3%). In his most 31 innings at Triple-A, Zimmermann has kept his ERA down to a miserly 1.45.

However, the Brewers have not had any openings in their starting rotation all season, and recently accommodated a request from RHP Aaron Civale to be traded, as they traded him to the White Sox. Zimmermann was competing with Chad Patrick and Logan Henderson at Triple-A, while the Brewers have LHP Nestor Cortes and RHP Robert Gasser rehabbing injuries.

Prior to 2025, Zimmermann spent most of his career with Baltimore, pitching with the Orioles in four consecutive seasons from 2020-2023, with 158 1/3 combined innings for a 5.57 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate and 41.1% ground ball rate. The Orioles outrighted him at the end of the 2024 season and he went into free agency.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Athletics have selected the contract of OF Carlos Cortes from Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators and have immediately sent him back to Las Vegas. Cortes is now on the Athletics' 40-man roster but will not yet be promoted to the majors. The Athletics put RHP Grant Holman on the 60-day IL (from the 15-day IL) to open a 40-man roster spot.

The Mets selected Cortes in the third round of the 2018 draft and he became a minor league free agent after last season. He signed a minor league contract with the Athletics in November 2024. It appears that Cortes had an opt-out in his contract, given the unusual approach to his roster management.

Although the Pacific Coast League generates high batting numbers, Cortes has hit well so far at Triple-A, with a .321/.418/.603 slash line (140 wRC+) in 299 plate appearances. He has hit 16 home runs (a career high) and has struck out in only 13.7% of plate appearances. Over the last 30 Triple-A games, Cortes has hit .403/.500/.773.

However, Cortes finds his path to the majors with the Athletics blocked, with the Athletics opting to use Lawrence Butler in right field and Tyler Soderstrom in left field in the majors. Cortes could potentially find a spot on the bench, especially if the Athletics deal Gio Urshela and/or Miguel Andujar by the trade deadline.

The Athletics put Holman on the 15-day IL last month due to tendinitis in his rotator cuff after he pitched 23 2/3 innings for the Athletics this season. Holman has a career 38 2/3 innings in the majors (all with the Athletics) since last season, for a career 4.66 ERA.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Kansas City Royals have acquired utility player Adam Frazier from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for infielder Cam Devanney (whom the Royals selected to their active roster eight days ago without giving him an MLB debut). Since both players are on their respective 40-man rosters, neither club needs to make a corresponding move to make the trade official.

Frazier played for the Royals in 2024, hitting .202/.282/.294 in 294 plate appearances, but found his groove with the Pirates this year, hitting .255/.318/.336 (including .302/.356/.387 over his last 119 plate appearances since the middle of May).

Frazier played second base and corner outfield positions for Pittsburgh this year, and is likely to be a bench option for Royals manager Matt Quatraro, given his defensive versatility.

The Pirates signed Frazier to a $1.525 million salary in the off-season, and just under $615,000 is left on his salary for the remainder of the season, which will be the responsibility of the Royals.

The Pirates receive Devanney in exchange for Frazier. The Brewers drafted Devanney in the 15th round of the 2019 draft and Milwaukee subsequently traded him to Kansas City in 2023. Devanney has mostly played shortstop at Triple-A, hitting .272/.366/.565 with 18 home runs, 14 doubles, three triples, an 11.8% walk rate and a 24.35 strikeout rate in 288 plate appearances.

With the Pirates likely to trade Isiah Kiner-Falefa by the trade deadline, there is a possibility that Devanney will have the rest of the season to audition for a spot on the 2026 active roster for Pittsburgh at shortstop, although he has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis by Pittsburgh for the time being.

 

[RPCB]

A swing off to decide the all star game. MLB is run by clowns.

Cal Raleigh winning a tiebreaker to knock out Brent Rooker by 0.08 feet might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard happening in baseball.

That, or Paul Skenes having more bWAR (4.8) than wins (4).

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Milwaukee Brewers have sent outfielder Drew Avans outright to Triple-A Nashville, according to the MLB transaction tracker. Milwaukee designated Avans for assignment on Sunday when Blake Perkins was reinstated from the 60-day IL. Avans was claimed off waivers by the Brewers when the Athletics put him on waivers. Avans had hit well enough in Triple-A to earn a promotion to the Athletics during their form slump in early June, but went 1-9 at the plate with two strikeouts, a stolen base and a run scored. Avans, touted for his defensive side, also misplayed a fly ball in left field that allowed a run to score against the Athletics. After being claimed by the Brewers, in his only game for Milwaukee, he went 0-2 with a strikeout and an RBI.

Avans was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 33rd round of the 2018 draft, and just turned 29 last month. Avans is in line to become a free agent at the end of the season if he does not get his contract selected.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Boston Red Sox have agreed a minor league contract with catcher Ronaldo Hernandez after he was released from a similar arrangement with the New York Yankees a couple of weeks ago. Hernandez had a three-day stay in the Mexican League before signing with Boston. He has been assigned to Triple-A Worcester. It is the second occasion that Hernandez has spent time in the Red Sox organisation, having been acquired by Boston from the Tampa Bay Rays before the 2021 season commenced, as part of the return for LHP Jeffrey Springs. Hernandez spent some time on the Red Sox 40-man roster, but never played in the majors.

Red Sox bring back old friend on minor league deal after trading depth catcher

Needing some catching depth after trading Blake Sabol, the Red Sox are bringing back a player who is very familiar to fans in Worcester.

www.masslive.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

RHP Kyle Gibson announced his retirement, effective immediately. Gibson has pitched across 13 major league seasons for a number of clubs, and recently opted out of a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays after failing to make their active roster.



Gibson was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the 2009 season, but underwent Tommy John surgery in 2011 that delayed him from pitching in the majors until 2013. In 2014, Gibson made 31 starts and had his best season with the Twins in 2018, when he had a 3.62 ERA in 196 2/3 innings, with 179 strikeouts.

Gibson signed with the Rangers after the 2019 season on a three year deal that guaranteed him $28 million. He earned his first All-Star nod in 2021 when he pitched to a 2.87 ERA in his first 19 starts of that season, but with the Rangers not close to the playoffs, he was traded to the Phillies at the trade deadline. He spent a season and a half with the Phillies, and appeared in the World Series for Philadelphia in 2022, tossing one scoreless inning. He signed with the Orioles as a free agent after the season, starting 33 games (winning 15) and putting up a 4.73 ERA. A free agent after the 2023 season, he signed with the Cardinals for 2024, pitching in 30 starts and putting up a 4.24 ERA.

However, it seemed that MLB clubs thought that his MLB career was over last off-season. He remained unsigned well into Spring Training and only agreed to a contract with the Orioles a week before the season started, worth $5.25 million. Given that he had no work up until he signed with the Orioles, he agreed to spend the first couple of seasons riding the bus in Triple-A. He was promoted to the active roster at the end of April, but opponents lit him up for 23 earned runs across 12 1/3 innings and four starts. The Orioles cut bait with Gibson and he has been out of the majors since, with his only professional baseball since then being three consecutive scoreless starts at Triple-A with Durham (the affiliate of the Rays).

 

[Dixie Flatline]

According to reports from Pittsburgh, the New York Yankees have shown some interest in RHP Mitch Keller, who is under contract to the Buccos for another three years after this season. The Mets and the Cubs have also been recently connected with Keller, although the Mets are reportedly much more interested in Keller than the Cubs, who view him as a "backup option" in their rotation search.

The Yankees have lost a number of starters from their rotation so far this season, with Gerrit Cole out for the year with Tommy John surgery, Clarke Schmidt also missing the rest of the season through Tommy John surgery, while Luis Gil is yet to make his season debut thanks to a lat strain, while Ryan Yarbrough has missed a month with an oblique strain.

At present, the Yankees will use Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Will Warren and Cam Schlittler to start games, with the hope that Luis Gil (currently on a rehab assignment) returning to the major league club shortly.

Keller has 20 starts for the Pirates before the All-Star break, with a 3.48 ERA, and an 18.7% strikeout and 5.5% walk rate. Keller has reached the sixth inning or later in 13 consecutive starts and has a 3.04 ERA in 80 innings across that period. Dating back to 2022, Keller has been resilient on the mound, tied for the seventh-most starts (112) and 10th-most innings (650 1/3) across the sport.

Keller has a salary of $15 million for 2025, and has salaries of $16.5 million, $18 million and $20 million over the next three seasons.

Pirates mailbag: When will Pittsburgh host another MLB All-Star Game?

Welcome to the Pirates mailbag, where Post-Gazette reporter Noah Hiles answers all of your questions about the ball club. If you have a question, find...

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