MLB Editorials Articles - Page 229

Perhaps the biggest prize that could be available at the MLB trade deadline is San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, who is in the final year of his deal and will likely command a big contract this offseason. Of course, the fact that the Giants have somehow wriggled their way back into playoff contention by […]

While it is always hard to predict the future, the sport of baseball tends to be on the easier end of being able to see what teams are going to look like in the near future. With contract structures, minor league systems, and the developing free-agent markets, teams are able to forecast what players are […]

Heading into the month of June, the Minnesota Twins were the talk of the 2019 MLB season. Driven by shrewd offseason acquisitions and a penchant for the home run ball, the Twins raced out to a big lead in the weak American League Central while the Cleveland Indians struggled just to stay above .500 thanks […]

All across the MLB, teams are focusing their drafting and developing efforts on shoring up the core of their team, emphasizing the quality of players up the middle. From catcher to pitcher, then from second baseman/shortstop to center field, teams are taking an up the middle approach to filling out their franchises. Looking at the […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been an absolute juggernaut in the National league West, heading into Friday with an MLB-best 64-35 record and +151 run differential. Powered by an MVP season from Cody Bellinger and an incredibly deep lineup alongside the pitching performances of guys like Hyun-Jin Ryu, Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers […]

In a time where players all across the MLB seem to be understanding that the baseball that they are using is juiced, the actual league is not accepting the blame or coming clean on this topic. While baseballs are being smashed out of the park at a high rate, one that has never been seen […]

Just around two weeks until the 2019 MLB trade deadline is upon us, and things seem to be strangely quiet for this time of year. While there have been some smaller moves made that have started a trend towards a busier trade season, nothing huge has happened just quite yet. The Boston Red Sox have […]

When the Chicago Cubs faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 NLCS, they got a healthy dosage of Yu Darvish. After the Dodgers took the first two games in Los Angeles, Darvish came to Wrigley Field and dominated the Cubs, striking out seven and giving up just one run in 6 2/3 innings of […]

When the Boston Red Sox won the 2018 World Series, they proved why they were one of the best teams in the history of Major League Baseball. With a potent offense led by American League MVP Mookie Betts and a pitching staff anchored by Chris Sale, the Red Sox were one of the most well-balanced […]

What a strange odyssey 2019 has been for the Philadelphia Phillies. After having a breakout season over the first six months of the 2018 season, the Phillies stumbled to a woeful 8-20 record in September. But armed with a young and talented pitching staff headlined by ace Aaron Nola as well as a host of […]

Being a first-round draft pick in the sport of baseball puts a ton of pressure on a kid, sometimes one that is just coming out of high school and completely skipping the route of going to college, making it tough for that important step of development to occur. But for Gerrit Cole, going first overall […]

For each of the past two seasons, one question has seemed to hover around the Cleveland Indians in the month of July: will they be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline? The Indians are certainly in the playoff picture. At 50-38, they are currently in position for the second Wild Card spot, and are […]

By showing its strength again by winning yet another All-Star game, the American League is gearing up for the second half of the 2019 MLB season, looking to make it three in a row for World Series championships. As it currently sits, there are eight teams that have an above .500 record, which is shaping […]

The Chicago Cubs are one of the winningest MLB franchises in the last few years. After a long and arduous rebuild that began in earnest following the 2010 season, the Cubs burst back onto the scene as contenders in 2015. One season later, they had finally climbed the mountain in winning their first World Series […]

As the All-Star Break is closing up shop and the second half of the MLB season has already begun, teams across both the American and National leagues are gearing up for their run at making it into the postseason. While five teams from each league will ultimately earn a spot in the playoffs, not every […]

The halfway point in the 2019 MLB season has come and gone, and as teams gear up for the dog days of summer, there are some organizations that may have more to play for than others. Heading into Spring Training, there were plenty of exciting storylines. Whether fans chose to follow the retooled teams in […]

The All-Star game has come and gone, and with the 2019 MLB season over 50 percent complete, it is time to hand out midseason awards to some of the best and brightest in baseball. From breakout stars to rookie sensations and the most consistent superstars in the game continuing to perform at the highest level, […]

In the past, MLB fans have been privy to seeing front offices make deals during the All-Star break, catching players who may have even been playing in the game off guard. Rumors were running ablaze during last season’s All-Star game, which were mainly focused on which team was going to acquire All-Star Manny Machado from […]

The stage was bright, included some of the league’s best rookies and had everyone smashing juiced-up baseballs out of Progressive Field in Cleveland for the 2019 MLB Home Run Derby. Even with last year’s National League MVP, Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers, having bowed out at the last minute due to an ailing back, […]

Unlike the National League, the American League seems to be more set it stone in regards to how the standings have worked themselves out. For the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins, the first half of their MLB seasons have all been very successful, to the point where they are leading their respective […]

The halfway point of the 2019 MLB season has come and gone, and the All-Star break is just around the corner. While NBA free agency talk has dominated the majority of the headlines as of late, baseball teams around the league are going through internal changes as they prepare to enter the dog days of […]

With the ebb and flow of a 162 game MLB season having just crossed its halfway mark, both the National and American Leagues are sorting out their standings in an attempt to decipher who will be falling into the group of buyers and who will be selling off their talent before the trade deadline hits. […]

Every year, the MLB deals with missing out on players who deserve All-Star nominations, regardless of if they make the roster to be a starter or even a bench piece. Both leagues go through that process every single season, and the 2019 season is no different. The mid-summer classic is played in Cleveland, Ohio this […]

Undergoing a pretty disappointing season, the Boston Red Sox currently sit 11 games back (that is not a misprint) of the first-place New York Yankees and 7 back of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays. Coming off of a very successful season that culminated in the BoSox winning the 2018 World Series over the Los Angeles […]

The good news is that before any gameplay on June 28th, the Chicago Cubs are sitting in first place in the National League Central division, having looked the part of a divisional winner so far as the last few days of June come to a close. The bad news? They only sit one game ahead […]

The Boston Celtics are about to completely make over their roster this summer, as Kyrie Irving and Al Horford seem to be surefire goners, Aron Baynes was traded and the Celtics will also have to renounce rights to Marcus Morris and Terry Rozier in order to clear enough cap room to sign Kemba Walker, which […]

Currently positioned at the third-best team in the National League Central division as the end of June grows closer and closer, the St. Louis Cardinals are keeping their postseason chances close enough to still see for now – but not close enough to actually grasp. Having just found out that their fireballer closer Jordan Hicks […]

Needing the rest of the 2019 season, plus both of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, to be completed before his contract is up, Zack Greinke seems to be pretty locked in as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the foreseeable future. Having signed a monster six-year, $206.5 million deal in December of 2015, the […]

Major League Baseball is often dominated by big-market teams. Organizations like the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are constantly in a spot of advantage because of their ability to expand their payroll and show indifference to the luxury tax. Which is why, oftentimes, squads like the San Diego Padres need to stockpile young […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the best team in baseball heading towards the Midsummer Classic in Cleveland, OH. Entering play on June 26, the Dodgers had the best record in the majors (55-26) while also leading all big league teams in run differential (an astounding +131). With the club on pace for a ridiculous […]

A common topic of trade talk for what feels like the past few seasons, right-handed starting pitcher Marcus Stroman is seemingly on the trade block again, as the Toronto Blue Jays are still in a rut of trying to compete but not having the necessary pieces to do so. In a crowded American League East […]

Leaving the hopes and dreams of a professional baseball team to make the playoffs up to one player is somewhat normal, especially if that one player (Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, etc.) means that much to that franchise. But for a team’s hopes to rest on the shoulders of two players, who are at vastly different […]

Struggling to find their way again, the Milwaukee Brewers have been absolutely taking hit after hit in terms of their postseason goals. While having an other world performance by Christian Yelich yet again this season, combined with Mike Moustakas looking to make the All-Star team for the first time as a member of the National […]

The date is April 10th. The Chicago Cubs have just lost a game to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-2. This marked eight losses in their first 11 games. Doubters seemed to forget that there was 151 games left following this meaning loss to the Pirates. The Cubs went on to win 22 of their next 28 […]

Ever since he burst onto the scene as a rookie contributor for a San Francisco Giants team that won their first World Series title in 56 years in 2010, Madison Bumgarner has become one of the faces of the franchise in the Bay Area. In 11 years with the Giants–including this season–Bumgarner has pitched to […]

Just when it seemed like the Boston Red Sox were on the verge of busting loose, they have merely held water in the American League East. The Red Sox have climbed back above .500 and were 40-35 entering play on June 19, but they have hardly gone on that kind of run that seemed to […]

The New York Yankees are starting to get healthy which is a dangerous thing for baseball. Didi Gregorius and Giancarlo Stanton have returned to action. Aaron Judge is rehabbing in Scranton with the Triple-A ball club. Missing a chunk of their starters for a good part of the season did not bother the Bombers. They […]

Last week, we covered some of the most overshadowed players in the National League. This week, we turn our attention to the American League. Of course, the most dominant players in the AL in recent years have been Mike Trout and Mookie Betts. Trout is in the midst of another fantastic season, while Betts has […]

Currently, the American League is situated with three divisional leaders that most pegged to be holding down the top spots at this point in the season. With the Yankees holding a slim advantage in the East, the Minnesota Twins being a big surprise by running away with the Central and with the Houston Astros on […]