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Blue Jays Transfer Bowden Francis To 60-Day IL

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The Blue Jays announced today that infielder Will Wagner has been reinstated from the restricted list. Outfielder Alan Roden has been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo as the corresponding active roster move. Right-hander Bowden Francis was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.

Wagner landed on the restricted list just two days ago, as he stepped away from the team in order to attend is father Billy Wagner’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony. In that two-day interim, the Jays used his 40-man spot. Catcher Alejandro Kirk was placed on the seven-day concussion IL yesterday, with fellow catcher Ali Sánchez selected to the roster to replace him. That meant that another 40-man spot needed to be opened for Wagner’s return today.

Francis landed on the 15-day IL on June 15th, due to a right shoulder impingement. His 60-day count is retroactive to that date, so he can be reinstated in mid-August. He hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment so it doesn’t seem like a near-term return to health is in the cards.

Photo courtesy of Orlando Ramirez, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Looking For Bullpen Upgrades

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The deadline is now just a few days away and the Blue Jays are “turning over every stone” in the relief market, reports Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. It’s not a surprising target for the club. The Jays have the best record in baseball at 63-43, putting them clearly in the buyer camp. Contending clubs almost always add a few bullpen arms prior to the deadline.

Toronto’s bullpen hasn’t been awful this year. Their relievers have a collective 3.66 earned run average, which is seventh-best in the majors. Still, there’s room for improvement. In the past month, they’ve lost Yimi García, Nick Sandlin, Ryan Burr and Paxton Schultz to the injured list, cutting into the overall depth.

Jeff Hoffman has a 4.78 ERA in his first season as a full-time closer. A lot of that is due to a really bad stretch in the month of May, however. He has a flat ERA of 3.00 since the start of June. Perhaps the Jays could look to get a more established closer and bump Hoffman into a setup role.

Or if they’re fine with Hoffman as the closer, they could simply add talented arms regardless of closing experience. Just strengthening the whole group is obviously beneficial for the stretch run and playoffs. They have a couple of guys with options who could end up back in Triple-A Buffalo, such as Mason Fluharty or Justin Bruihl. Also, Chad Green has a 4.85 ERA and 18.6% strikeout rate, so he might not have a firm grip on a roster spot. He is making $10.5MM this year but is an impending free agent.

There are many different ways the Jays could go about upgrading the bullpen. There are dozens of candidates to be traded in the next few days. MLBTR recently highlighted many of them in our Top 50 list.

Closers such as Ryan Helsley, David Bednar and Jhoan Durán are thought to be available, though to varying degrees. Helsley is an impending free agent on a Cardinals team which seems to be leaning towards selling. Bednar is controllable for an extra year but his up-and-down performance in recent years will likely prompt the Pirates to cash in. Durán is likely far less available, as he’s controllable for another two years after this one. It’s possible the whole market has been impacted by the recent Emmanuel Clase news. There are plenty of other arms out there as well, including Dennis Santana, Pierce Johnson, Danny Coulombe and more.

Toronto’s talks with other clubs will naturally be impacted by the asking prices. The Jays came into the season with a farm system that was ranked in the bottom third of the league. They have had some positive developments with their prospects this year but it’s still not one of the strongest systems in the majors.

If they want to reduce the prospect cost of their acquisitions, they could agree to take on more salary. The Jays have cranked up the payroll in recent years. In the most recent offseason, they took on the contracts of Andrés Giménez and Myles Straw from the Guardians, bolstering the roster without surrendering prospect capital. RosterResource estimates that the club currently has a competitive balance tax number of $278MM, which is just below the third threshold of $281MM. If the Jays end up on the other side of that line, their top pick in the 2026 draft will be pushed back ten spots.

President of baseball operations Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins are both nearing the ends of their respective contracts, with Shapiro’s expiring after 2025 and Atkins’ after 2026. The Jays have made the playoffs a few times in recent years but been quickly eliminated each time. Last year, they had a Murphy’s Law season and finished in the A.L. East basement. Due to all those reasons, the Jays could try something bold in the coming days. That could be in the bullpen but the Jays have also been connected to starters such as Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen and Mitch Keller.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Place Alejandro Kirk On 7-Day Concussion IL

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The Blue Jays are placing catcher Alejandro Kirk on the 7-day concussion injured list this morning, according to a report from Arden Zwelling of Sportnet. Catcher Ali Sanchez is being selected to the roster to replace Kirk. No corresponding 40-man move was necessary for Sanchez, as the Blue Jays had an open spot on their 40-man roster to work with.

Kirk took a foul ball off of his face mask during the second inning of yesterday’s game, and evidently he was shaken up enough by the incident that the Blue Jays have opted to place him on the injured list for the next week. The severity of Kirk’s symptoms aren’t known at this point, and it’s unclear if he’s ticketed for a lengthier stay on the injured list than a minimum stint of seven days. Regardless, losing Kirk for any amount of time is a major blow. The 26-year-old has been in the midst of a resurgent season where he’s managed to combine the above-average offense he offered earlier in his career with the stalwart defense he’s provided in more recent seasons. He’s slashing .304/.361/.413 (117 wRC+) across 88 games for Toronto this year and he’s received top-of-the-scale marks from advanced metrics on all aspects of his defense behind the plate.

With Kirk out of commission, the Blue Jays will have to turn to a combination of Tyler Heineman and Sanchez. Toronto’s strong play in recent weeks has afforded the club the best record in not just the AL East, but all of baseball. With a 6.5-game lead in the division over the Yankees, the Jays have the benefit of some breathing room as they wait for Kirk to recover. It also surely helps ease any concerns about Kirk’s status that Heineman has enjoyed a breakout season as the primary backup to Kirk this year. In 37 games, the 34-year-old has posted a sensational .330/.394/.495 slash line (149 wRC+) to go with strong defensive numbers behind the plate. Heineman can’t reasonably be expected to keep that production up forever given his sky-high .391 BABIP, but even a major step back would still make him a worthy fill-in option for the Jays while Kirk is out.

As for Sanchez, it will be the 28-year-old’s second stint with the Blue Jays this year after he appeared in five games earlier this season. Sanchez has never offered much production with the bat, slashing just .176/.217/.222 over 43 career games in the majors since he made his debut back in 2020. Sanchez makes up for that poor offensive production with well-respected defense behind the plate, however, and should be a serviceable short-term backup for Heineman for the time being.

With Toronto clearly in win-now position and the trade deadline just days away, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Jays could consider making a move behind the plate if they think Kirk could be facing an extended absence. Old friend Danny Jansen is rumored to be available in the event that the Rays decide to sell off in the coming days and is already quite familiar with many of Toronto’s pitchers after seven seasons in the organization, though such an acquisition would likely only make sense if the Blue Jays were anticipating being without Kirk for quite some time. If Kirk can return to action in relatively short order, upgrading other parts of the roster such as the starting rotation should surely be a better use of the club’s resources.

Blue Jays, Rays Among Teams Showing Interest In Dylan Cease

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Earlier this week, ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that the Padres had discussed Dylan Cease with multiple AL East teams in addition to the Mets and Cubs. It seems the interest from the AL East has come from every contending club in that division. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that the Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees have all checked in with the Friars to express interest.

The Cease rumors have picked up steam over the past few days. It’d be unconventional for a team that presently occupies the National League’s final playoff spot to trade one of its two best healthy starters. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller has never shied away from big swings, though, and they’re seemingly considering the idea of trading Cease for young talent while reallocating payroll room and prospects to different available starters. Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported last night that they’re among the teams that have been in touch with the Marlins regarding Sandy Alcantara, for instance.

Cease is an impending free agent who is playing on a $13.75MM salary. He’s a lock to receive and reject a qualifying offer if the Padres hold him all season. As a luxury tax payor, they’d only receive a compensatory pick after the fourth round in the 2026 draft. That’s worth far less than they’d receive if they traded him, though they need to balance that against the hit it’d deal to the rotation for the stretch run.

The 29-year-old Cease is incredibly durable and has pitched at a top-of-the-rotation level in previous seasons. His near-30% strikeout rate and 97 MPH average fastball still point to that ceiling, but he hasn’t managed particularly strong results this year. He carries a 4.59 earned run average across 113 2/3 innings. Some of that can be traced to a nine-run drubbing at the hands of the A’s in their extremely hitter-friendly park in Sacramento back in April. That’s hardly the sole factor, though. Cease got on a decent run after that outing but has allowed a 5.21 ERA over his most recent seven starts.

Even if this hasn’t been a banner year, Cease’s track record and stuff would make him an extremely desirable trade target. He’d be the best rental rotation arm available, and teams would still view him as a surefire playoff starter. The Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays are all known to be in the starting pitching market. New York has a strong 1-2 in Max Fried and Carlos Rodón, but Luis Gil is a health question mark and they lost Clarke Schmidt to Tommy John surgery. Boston would certainly benefit from adding another high-end starter to pair with Cease’s former White Sox teammate, Garrett Crochet. Toronto’s veteran-laden rotation lacks a true top-end starter, and they’ve already been tied to some of the higher upside trade candidates like Edward Cabrera and Mitch Keller.

The Rays would be the most surprising entrant into this group, though Tampa Bay tends to at least kick the tires on big names even if they don’t often land them. They’re a game and a half back of Boston in the Wild Card race. They’d have little hope of re-signing Cease, and a big push for a rental when they’re a bubble team seems unlikely. Tampa Bay could trade a starter like Taj Bradley or Zack Littell in the coming days; they’re also hopeful of getting Shane McClanahan back in the final two months.

San Diego awaits the return of one of their own top starters. Michael King has been out for more than two months with a nerve injury in his shoulder. He’s targeting a mid-August comeback. As of now, he’d team with Cease, Nick Pivetta and potentially Yu Darvish in a playoff rotation. That’s not a terrible group, but both Cease and King are months from free agency. Pivetta can opt out after next season, and Darvish is approaching his 39th birthday. Even with Joe Musgrove returning from Tommy John surgery next year, the long-term rotation picture is cloudy. They could try to thread the needle of acquiring a controllable arm while shipping Cease out.

Jesse Chavez Announces Retirement

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Right-hander Jesse Chavez announced his retirement on Foul Territory today. He was on the Braves’ roster until recently but was designated for assignment a week ago when that club acquired Dane Dunning. Chavez elected free agency after clearing waivers and has apparently decided to hang up his spikes in recent days.

“I don’t think we’re gonna keep going,” Chavez said. “I think this is it, time to turn the page, focus on the next chapter in life and go help all the young kids, all the stuff that I did so they don’t have to take two steps backwards and take those three steps forward.”

Chavez wraps up his career just shy of his 42nd birthday, which is less than a month away. He had an incredibly unique career in terms of the miles he traveled and jerseys he wore over the years. As detailed by Matt Monagan of MLB.com in 2022, Chavez is the most traded player in history, having been flipped ten times.

He was initially drafted by the Cubs in the 39th round of the 2001 draft but decided to go to college. Then the Rangers took him in the 42nd round the year after and got him to sign. The draft is now only 20 rounds in length but was obviously longer back then.

Prior to making it to the majors, he was traded for the first time, getting sent to the Pirates for Kip Wells in 2006. He made his major league debut with that club in 2008, tossing 15 innings with a 6.60 earned run average. He stuck with the Bucs through 2009 but then before the 2010 season was flipped to the Rays for Akinori Iwamura and then to the Braves for Rafael Soriano. His first stint with Atlanta lasted just a few months, as he was traded to the Royals at the deadline alongside Gregor Blanco and Tim Collins for Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth.

He stuck with the Royals through the 2011 season before being put on waivers, when the Blue Jays claimed him. In August of 2012, he was traded to the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations.

At the end of the 2012 season, Chavez still hadn’t had a lot of major league success. He had a 5.99 ERA in 177 1/3 innings. The move to Oakland seemed to work out well for him. In 2013, he tossed 57 1/3 relief innings with a 3.92 ERA. He got stretched out for a rotation role and performed well. He logged 303 innings over the 2014 and 2015 seasons with a 3.83 ERA.

Going into 2016, he was traded back to the Blue Jays, with Liam Hendriks sent the other way. That second stint with the Jays lasted just a few months, as he was flipped to the Dodgers for Mike Bolsinger ahead of the 2016 deadline. Both of those clubs kept in him relief and he had a 4.43 ERA that year.

He reached free agency for the first time ahead of the 2017 season and signed a one-year, $5.8MM deal with the Angels. The Halos stretched him back out but the results weren’t great, with a 5.43 ERA through July. He was moved back to the bullpen and had a slightly better 4.94 ERA the rest of the way.

"<strongGoing into 2018, he signed a one-year, $1MM deal to return to the Rangers, the first organization he signed with. That turned out to be one of his best seasons. He was traded the Cubs for Tyler Thomas at the deadline and finished that year with a 2.55 ERA. He got to make his first postseason appearance with the Cubs, tossing a scoreless inning in the Wild Card game against the Rockies, but the Cubs ultimately lost in 13 innings.

He returned to free agency and signed with the Rangers yet again, this time on a two-year deal worth $8MM. That deal didn’t work out quite as well, as he posted a 5.21 ERA over those two seasons.

He had to settle for a minor league deal with Atlanta going into 2021, but he showed he still had something left in the tank. He was able to to throw 33 2/3 innings in the majors that year with a 2.14 ERA. He cracked the postseason roster and tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings as Atlanta won it all, getting Chavez a World Series ring.

He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs going into 2022 and got a brief stint on their roster before getting flipped back to Atlanta for Sean Newcomb. A few months later, he and Tucker Davidson were flipped to the Angels for Raisel Iglesias.

In the latter years of his career, he always seemed to wind up back in Atlanta. Even after being traded away in August of 2022, he was back in Atlanta via waivers a few weeks later. Via further minor league deals, he ended up tossing 34 2/3 innings in 2023 with a 1.56 ERA and then 63 1/3 innings last year with a 3.13 ERA. This year, his time on the roster has been more limited, with eight innings and eight earned runs allowed.

In the end, Chavez played in 18 seasons for nine different teams, getting traded ten times. He got into 657 games and tossed 1,142 innings with a 4.27 ERA. He had a 51-66 win-loss record, nine saves and 76 holds. Baseball Reference lists his career earnings above $25MM. We at MLB Trade Rumors salute him on his incredibly long and winding career and wish him the best with the next phase of his life. Based on his comments above, it sounds like maybe he’ll turn up in a coaching role in the future.

Photos courtesy of Kelley L Cox, Tim Heitman and Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Interested In Mitch Keller

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The Blue Jays are among the teams to contact the Pirates about right-hander Mitch Keller, reports Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. They’re the latest in a growing number of clubs reported to have interest in the 29-year-old righty, who’s also drawn looks from the Yankees, Mets and Cubs. Keller is signed through the 2028 season.

Keller’s fit with the Blue Jays is natural in many ways. Toronto will see right-handers Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer reach free agency at season’s end, vacating two spots in the rotation. Kevin Gausman is signed for only one additional year and will be a free agent in the 2026-27 offseason. Right-hander Jose Berrios has an opt-out clause in his contract that allows him to reenter the free-agent market in the 2026-27 offseason as well. Fifth starter Eric Lauer, who’s been a godsend in Toronto after signing a minor league contract, is controllable via arbitration through 2026.

[Related: Toronto Blue Jays Trade Deadline Outlook]

Adding a steady arm like Keller, who’s in his prime and affordably signed for three additional seasons, has to hold appeal for the Blue Jays — particularly given the number of pitching injuries they’ve seen among their prospect class and other young arms in recent years.

Left-handers Ricky Tiedemann and Brandon Barriera and right-handers Jake Bloss, Landen Maroudis and T.J. Brock have all undergone UCL surgery within the past 15 months. Lefty Adam Macko had knee surgery in February and has been roughed up for 23 runs in 25 Triple-A innings upon returning. Former AL Cy Young finalist Alek Manoah is still on the mend from last year’s UCL procedure and is only controllable through the 2027 season. Bowden Francis has been unable to replicate last year’s late-season showing and has now been out more than a month due to a shoulder impingement.

The Jays still have some notable young arms. Right-handers Trey Yesavage and Khal Stephen, their top two picks in the 2024 draft, are enjoying strong years in their first full professional seasons, and several lower-level arms have made big strides in 2025 but might still be a few years away (e.g. 2022 19th rounder Gage Stanifer, 2020 international signee Kendry Rojas). On the whole, the pitching group has still been hit with a broad range of injuries.

Keller is being paid $15MM this season — just $500K less than the Jays paid to sign the 40-year-old Scherzer to a one-year deal in free agency this past offseason and the same amount secured by older starters Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton and Alex Cobb. Keller is then owed a combined $54.5MM from 2026-28. Added to the remainder of this year’s salary, Keller has almost exactly $60MM yet to be paid out for his three-plus seasons of club control. The Jays have $184MM on next year’s books, which is $70MM less than their current payroll level.

[Related: Pittsburgh Pirates Trade Deadline Outlook]

It’s an eminently affordable rate for a pitcher of Keller’s quality. While he’s not an ace, he’s a former second-round pick and top prospect who has blossomed into a steady mid-rotation arm and could be seen by some other clubs as a pitcher with a bit of yet-untapped potential. Several Pirates pitchers — Gerrit Cole, Tyler Glasnow, Joe Musgrove, Clay Holmes among them — have found new gears upon being traded to other organizations over the years, after all, and Keller is also enjoying his most successful season to date.

Through 20 starts and 119 innings, Keller has pitched to a career-best 3.48 earned run average. His 18.7% strikeout rate is a career-low, but his 5.5% walk rate is a career-best. There are some red flags, as Keller’s 93.9 mph average fastball is down a half-mile compared to last year and down 1.3 mph from his 2023 levels, but his heater has slowly gained a bit of life as the season has worn on. He’s also allowing a bit more hard contact than usual and experiencing pretty good fortune in terms of homer-to-flyball ratio; his 6.7% mark in that regard is well shy of the 11.8% he carried into the season.

Even with a bit of ERA regression, however, Keller would still be a solid value at his current price, and there’s always the chance that the change in scenery unlocks another gear as well. For a Jays club that could plausibly see every current member of its rotation come off the books by the end of the 2026 season, a July acquisition of Keller would not only fortify the current roster but also represent a bit of proactive shopping.

Toronto also has a number of near-MLB position prospects who could intrigue a Pirates team that’s bereft of quality young hitters — Alan Roden, Josh Kasevich, RJ Schreck, Jonatan Clase and Will Wagner among them. Not all of those names are of the caliber to be a headliner in a Keller deal, and the Bucs won’t necessarily focus solely on young hitters in a trade, but the two parties align on a potential Keller swap in many ways.

Blue Jays Agree To Terms With First-Rounder JoJo Parker

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The Blue Jays have reached agreement with eighth overall pick JoJo Parker on a $6.2MM bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline. That’s a few hundred thousand dollars below the $6.81MM slot value.

Parker is a 6’2″ infielder who was drafted out of a Mississippi high school. A left-handed hitter, Parker ranked between seventh and tenth on pre-draft rankings from each of MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and The Athletic’s Keith Law. Evaluators uniformly praise him as one of the best hitters in the class. McDaniel, who was highest on Parker among the aforementioned prospect rankers, suggests he could be a plus-plus hitter with average power in his prime.

While he played shortstop in high school, Parker is expected to move off the position by the time he reaches the majors. Scouting reports suggest he could fit at third base, though there’s a chance he’ll need to move to a corner outfield spot. That’d put more pressure on Parker’s bat, but it’s possible he could hit enough to profile as a regular anywhere on the diamond.

Parker had been committed to Mississippi State. He’ll bypass that commitment, but his twin brother Jacob will join the Bulldogs. Jacob Parker was viewed as a solid prospect in his own right, though he was seen as more of a fourth-round talent. He didn’t find a signing bonus to his liking. The Diamondbacks eventually drafted him in the 19th round, but teams only select highly-regarded high school prospects that late in case an agreement with one of their earlier picks falls through (leaving them with unexpected bonus money).

Ryan Burr To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

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Blue Jays right-hander Ryan Burr will undergo season-ending surgery to address a capsule injury in his throwing shoulder. That was one of many updates that manager John Schneider provided about players on the roster. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet was among those to pass the info along.

Burr, now 31, had a solid showing with the Jays last year. He tossed 32 2/3 innings with a 4.10 earned run average. He struck out 33.6% of opponents and had a walk rate of 8.6%. If it weren’t for a .329 batting average on balls in play, he could have fared better, which is why FIP had him at 3.07 and SIERA at 2.66.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to build on that here in 2025. He started the year on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation. He eventually got healthy enough to be reinstated in early July. But after just two appearances, he was quickly placed on the 60-day IL with a rotator cuff strain.

He’ll stay on the IL for the rest of the year. He has passed three years of service time and will qualify for arbitration but the Jays may not tender him a contract. His results last year were good but he’s out of options will be coming off a lost season.

That wasn’t the only unfortunate news about the club’s bullpen depth. Right-hander Yimi García, who is on the 15-day IL due to a left ankle sprain, is experiencing ulnar nerve symptoms in his right elbow.

It’s a bit ominous, as elbow problems were a factor in his 2024 season. Right elbow ulnar neuritis sent him to the IL for about a month in June/July. He then returned to the IL in late August due to right elbow inflammation, after having been traded to the Mariners, and finished the season there.

The Jays nonetheless brought him back on a two-year, $15MM deal. He has tossed 21 innings with a 3.86 ERA this year, working around an IL stint for a right shoulder impingement, the recent ankle issue and now this elbow trouble.

With less than two weeks until the deadline, it’s possible these updates increase the motivation to add some fresh arms. Most contending clubs look for relief help ahead of the deadline and the unfortunate health developments could push the Jays farther in that direction.

There were unfortunate updates about Bowden Francis and Anthony Santander as well. Francis is on the IL with a shoulder impingement and will be shut down for ten days due to feeling “a bit cranky” in that shoulder. Santander is on the IL due to a left shoulder subluxation. He is still not swinging a bat and is set for further evaluation.

Though those are unfortunate updates, they may not have too much of an impact on the deadline. Francis posted a 6.05 ERA before hitting the IL, so the Jays probably weren’t going to be relying on him too heavily for the stretch run. Getting peak Santander back would be a nice boost for the lineup but the Jays have been getting good results from George Springer as the primary designated hitter and have a fairly crowded outfield mix consisting of Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, Joey Loperfido and Davis Schneider, with Daulton Varsho on a rehab assignment and on pace to rejoin the club soon.

Image courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images

Poll: Which Team Had The Most Impressive First Half?

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The All-Star game is now behind us, and we’re in the lull before games kick back up and the second half begins. There’s still plenty of baseball left to play, but in the meantime we’ll take stock of the state of the 2025 season and weigh which team impressed the most during the first half of the season. A look at some of the league’s top teams:

Detroit Tigers (59-38)

Entering the All-Star break with MLB’s best record is a surefire way to get serious consideration for an accolade like this, but the Tigers are arguably even more impressive than their record lets on given just how much they’ve outperformed their preseason expectations. Fangraphs projected the Tigers for a record of just 83-79, with a  sub-50% chance to make the postseason. Detroit would have to win only 25 games over the season’s final ten weeks in order to beat that projection, thanks to strong performances from surprise All-Stars Javier Baez, Gleyber Torres, and Zach McKinstry alongside the ever impressive work of stars like Riley Greene and Tarik Skubal.

Los Angeles Dodgers (58-39)

That the Dodgers have the best record in the National League is practically assumed in recent years, which speaks to the overwhelming dominance of the team Andrew Friedman and the rest of the front office have constructed. Shohei Ohtani is back on the mound and putting together another likely MVP campaign, Will Smith is having a career season behind the plate, and bottom-of-the-lineup players like Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim are contributing. While dominance in Los Angeles is hardly a surprise, it’s nonetheless impressive that they’ve been able to maintain their high standard of play even in spite of the rising tide of competitive teams in the National League, extended slumps from both Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and a patchwork rotation that at points in the first half had more Cy Young awards on the injured list than healthy members of its projected Opening Day rotation.

Chicago Cubs (57-39)

The Cubs’ front office entered 2025 feeling pressure after seven years without winning a playoff game and four without so much as a postseason appearance. That helped convince them to swing a trade for superstar Kyle Tucker, who has anchored their lineup alongside breakout MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong. Tucker and Crow-Armstrong get the majority of the attention, but Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch, and even veteran backstop Carson Kelly have put together strong seasons in their own rights. A pitching staff that lost both of its top starters early has been carried by a strong showing from offseason addition Matthew Boyd. It’s been enough to put them in the driver’s seat of the NL Central, and while that may have been expected entering the season, Chicago has made a statement by entering the second half in position to nab a bye through the Wild Card round.

Houston Astros (56-40)

After getting knocked out of the first round of the playoffs last year and the aforementioned Tucker trade, the Astros were a trendy pick to finally lose their grip on the AL West this year. They’ve answered the doubters impressively, plugging along despite getting virtually no production from Yordan Alvarez—or any other left-handed hitter, for that matter. Isaac Paredes has looked right at home in Daikin Park, and Cam Smith has taken to the majors quite well despite being getting just a handful of games at the Double-A level ahead of his big league debut. The real story of the season for the Astros has been in the rotation, however, as Hunter Brown has stepped up to make himself a true ace and legitimate Cy Young contender in a season where Houston would’ve otherwise had little certainty outside of pending free agent Framber Valdez.

Toronto Blue Jays (55-41)

The narrative surrounding the Blue Jays was such a bleak one entering this season that it’s impossible to ignore how quickly they’ve managed to turn things around. After missing out on the big fish in free agency for the second consecutive year, it seemed entering the season that the questions facing Toronto this summer would be about the future of Ross Atkins as GM and whether or not they’d need to trade Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before the deadline. A resurgent season from George Springer, a career year for Alejandro Kirk, and the breakout of Addison Barger have come together to help push this club to the top of a competitive AL East, however, and with both Guerrero and Kirk locked up long term the Jays should be looking towards brighter days in the future, as well.

Other Options

While those five teams have put together some of the most impressive first halves of the season, they’re far from the only contenders. The Phillies and Mets are locked in a tight battle for control of the NL East, and the starting pitching in Queens has been a pleasant surprise given the contributions of pieces like Griffin Canning (before his season-ending Achilles tear) and Clay Holmes. The Giants and Cardinals both entered this season viewed as potential deadline sellers but have put together strong enough campaigns to remain within the thick of the playoff race.

The Brewers appeared to be a question mark after losing Willy Adames and Devin Williams this offseason, but they’re just one game back of the Cubs in the NL Central and might get even better down the stretch now that Brandon Woodruff and Jacob Misiorowski are contributing. The Mariners have been able to hang in the playoff picture despite lengthy absences for both George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, while the Yankees have overcome significant rotation injuries. The Rays entered the season without even having a proper ballpark and look as strong as ever even after selling off key pieces like Paredes and Tyler Glasnow in recent years.

With so many strong performances in the first half, which team was the most impressive? Have your say in the poll below:

Manfred: Longer Break In 2028 For All-Star Game And Olympics Is Possible

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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to the media today, ahead of tonight’s All-Star game, addressing various topics relevant to the league. One subject that got a lot of discussion was the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the potential of MLB players participating. Baseball will be an event at the Olympics, with Dodger Stadium being the venue, but it’s still not confirmed if MLB players will be able to play. Manfred suggested it could be possible for the league to have a slightly longer midsummer break to include both the All-Star game and the Olympics, while also not impacting the regular season.

“It is possible to play the All-Star game in its normal spot, have a single break that would be longer but still play 162 games without bleeding into the middle of November,” Manfred said, per Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post. “That is possible.”

MLB players have never participated in the Olympics. Baseball has occasionally been an event in the games, but has been played by minor leaguers or college players. In recent years, it has not been unusual for MLB players to compete in international play. The World Baseball Classic has been running every few years since 2006, even though the COVID-19 pandemic threw the normal schedule off for a bit.

The main difference with the Olympics would be the timing. The WBC is held in March, ahead of the MLB regular season. The ’28 Olympics are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles from July 14th to 30th. Per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, the baseball field would include six teams, set by qualifying tournaments, who would then play from July 15th to 20th. Per Evan Drellich of The Athletic, the league would prefer that to be a little earlier. The All-Star break is usually the second Tuesday of July, which would be July 11th in 2028. The opening ceremony of the Olympics is scheduled for July 14th.

There are logistical challenges but it’s theoretically possible to line everything up. The fact that the games are taking place in the United States is also convenient, compared to a distant country where travel would be more of a concern.

It has been suggested in the past that perhaps the league could look to skip the All-Star game for one year, with the Olympics taking over as the main midsummer event. Manfred’s comments today point to both taking place, which would raise some interesting questions. Presumably, there could be a lot of overlap in terms of All-Star selections and Olympic rosters. If a player is planning to play in the Olympics and is also selected for the All-Star game, would they simply skip the latter like injured players do? Would some try to do both?

In terms of the scheduling, the details there aren’t clear either. In recent years, the MLB season has sometimes had some teams start the regular season in mid-March in order to play games in other countries such as Japan or South Korea. Starting the regular season earlier for all teams could perhaps allow for a longer midseason break, though that would lead to many weather-related annoyances in certain parts of the country.

Per Cooper, insurance is another potential hurdle. For the WBC, there are insurance policies in place to compensate an MLB team if one of their players is injured. But the WBC is put on by MLB, whereas the Olympics are put on by the International Olympic Committee. As noted by Cooper, it’s unclear if the IOC would be willing to pay the insurance premiums or if MLB would be willing to do so. MLB wouldn’t be directly benefiting from the event, since the IOC receives the proceeds, though the league would obviously hope that the Olympics would help to grow the MLB brand and expand its reach. Cooper mentions the possibility of Olympic committees of individual countries covering the insurance premiums but says this is the least likely scenario.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the logistical challenges could lead to San Francisco hosting the 2028 All-Star game. She says the league and the MLBPA would prefer a West Coast club host that year, in order to be near the Olympics in Los Angeles. She points out that San Diego, Seattle and Arizona have all hosted the All-Star festivities fairly recently, whereas the Giants last hosted back in 2007.

Slusser adds that MLBPA executive director Tony Clark also seemed open to the players agreeing to the Olympic plans, though with some details still to be worked out. “There’s just a lot of conversation that needs to be had sooner rather than later to see how viable this is,” Clark said. “But we’re hopeful that we can figure our way through it for the benefit of the game.”

If it comes to pass that the Giants host in 2028, it will kick things down the road for other clubs that have been waiting their turn. Last year, Manfred acknowledged that the Blue Jays were due, since they haven’t hosted since 1991. However, the Phillies are hosting in 2026, a decision that was made long ago to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It seems likely that the Cubs, who haven’t hosted since 1990, will be hosting in 2027. Putting the 2028 game in San Francisco would mean the Jays and other teams hoping to host would probably have to wait until 2029 at the earliest.

Manfred still seems to have a Toronto All-Star game on his radar, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. “Obviously, (the Blue Jays) are kind of perking up to the top of the list based on time,” he continued. “I’d like to be back in Toronto. Rogers has made a really significant investment in terms of improvements in the stadium. TBD at this point, beyond that.” Davidi adds that the Orioles and Red Sox are also interested. Baltimore last hosted in 1993 and Boston in 1999.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

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